hello fellow liberal gay individual!
here are some general thoughts in regards to your questions.
------I visited URichmond earlier this summer and absolutely loved the campus, but the more and more I read about the school slowly made it move so far down my list I wasn’t even sure if I’d still apply.
*APPLY!!! It’s so awesome here, and it really is a nice campus and environment, and you will almost absolutely get financial aid and it is wonderful
------They have my majors, have a beautiful campus, and I’m sure everyone is very nice, but I’m wondering what it’s like on campus for an LGBT, extremely liberal kid.
*Okay, so honestly everyone IS very nice. Most everyone comes from the Northeast so while maybe lots of folks are conservative, they all grew up with gay friends, so everyone is incredibly accommodating. I don’t think being gay is an issue. There’s also a ton of liberals here. Maybe not Bernie level liberal, but definitely Hillary loving liberals. There’s a strong democrats club, there’s strong groups of people who are vocal against any sort of discrimination. ALSO not trying to typecast you, but if you are a gay male, that environment is a little different. You might not have as many guy friends, but honestly I’ve never met a guy who would be opposed to having a gay friend. It’s just a very traditional environment here in the sense that friendships between guys are pretty… 90’s? Like, you’re not going to have that super close male friendship that has been so popular in the past decade, but you’ll still have friends. That’s not a real thing for gay guys or straight guys. People aren’t going to discriminate against you. If you’re a gay female, there’s just definitely a tight knit “sisterhood” of all girls here (if you get involved) so I really don’t think friendships are an issue among the same sex. Idk if any of that made sense, I hope it did. But like opposite sex friendships are totally a thing if you’re gay.
-------(I’m more into an alternative type of style/90s inspired…think VCU if you’re familiar with Richmond). I’m also worried about what the dating population will be like, because while I’m sure there are many LGBT people in the city of Richmond, I’d like to know there’s at least somewhat of an available dating population at URichmond.
*True, I understand the whole thing about the VCU/Richmond difference (Richmond native here). I myself am a preppy guy, which makes it easy to fit in. But I have plenty of friends who are alt styled, and no one really questions that. You just stand out as a cool person. I think a lot of person would literally think you’re more cool for breaking from the prep. Also, in general, I feel like gay folks on campus generally hang out with juniors and seniors because at that point everyone is just so understanding. That’s not a bad thing to hang out with folks that are older than you. Also, if you get off campus, VCU isn’t that far so I wouldn’t exclude yourself from that narrative. But that’s not saying UR isn’t accepting of norm breaking individuals, especially in a preppy sense. Re: the dating scene. No one, like gay or straight, really dates until junior or senior year, it seems, unless you’ve got a pre-college boyfriend or girlfriend. There’s a pretty strong hook up culture… yah. In terms of dating, by the time you’re a junior or senior, I think you’ll have a good picture of who you could or couldn’t date. There’s definitely a lot of closeted guys here. There are also probably a lot of closeted girls here – but girls seem more out than not. You’re going to have to be out and get involved to find someone you could date. But isn’t that what everyone does? Gay couples do exist on campus, so I would really worry about that aspect.
-------To clarify, I’m not at all interested on what clubs/support groups there are on campus. While I’m sure it’s nice to have an LGBT support group/supporters on campus, I’m more so worried about making sure I’m not forced into isolation for four years.
*Ugh, true. I had the same questions. The LGBT group is nice, blablablablabla, we have great resources. The way to get involved here is through these options: join a sorority or a frat. go to parties. form tight bonds with your orientation group. join some group (intermurals, scholarship programs, random clubs, etc etc etc). You’ll build friends through that.
Conclusion: I absolutely love it here. It’s been amazing. Without a doubt, you should apply. If I could think of a few words to describe people on this campus, I would say fun-loving and kind. I think it’s unfortunate that more people aren’t out of the closet yet, because I don’t think they would encounter much if any discrimination or awkward situations. Sure, you’ll have those thistly conversations in class about gay rights, but no one is going to dislike you at the end of the day. There is so much respect for sharing your opinions. After this election, you can look at the voting results for our segment and maybe get a decent picture of how this area/college leans in terms of politics, but that might not give the accepting UR culture justice. It’s not Brown, it’s not Pomona, but it’s an incredible experience that you will not regret.
Definitely ask me any other questions you might have!!! don’t fit in if you were born to stand out, because everyone loves an original.
-another super liberal gay kid
