How would a gay student fare at UA?
I’m from texas so I “know” the south, I just want to know if I would have trouble at this school.
Whats the gay scene like?
Most of my LGBTQIA* friends have seemed to find super accepting pockets of the campus. Groups like Spectrum create safe spaces to meet similar folk and feel at home. I would feel comfortable recommending Alabama to my friends who are LGBTQIA*.
the Spectrum group is very popular with gay/straight/etc students.
UA is a very safe place for LGBTQIA* students. Like anywhere, there are some people around town who might say negative things, but just ignore them.
You will likely find that a lot more people come out during college as it’s a more accepting place. Still, there are many closeted people who fear losing their friends and financial security by coming out which is still a very real fear. You’ll also likely meet a lot of people who are out to close friends, but not professionally. Yes, there are gay and bi guys in fraternities.
While it might seem like the most obvious choice, Spectrum is not the only gay-friendly student organization. I knew many LGBTQIA* students who were not in Spectrum for any number of reasons.
It’s also worth pointing out that the Women’s Resource Center is open to all students.
I am a queer girl from California and this was a big concern of mine when I was looking at Alabama. I knew it would be a great place for me academically, but I worried about how difficult it would be to find community. People at UA are obviously not as liberal as at places like Berkeley, but like any big school it is not hard at all to find your community! I went to a few Spectrum events, but in the end I had no trouble finding like-minded people through the other progressive groups on campus. UA is a diverse place, and while there might be some micro-aggressions from people who aren’t as accepting, depending on how out you are, you will find that the vast majority of people are happy to let you be you. Please let me know if I can help answer any more questions. Best of luck!