<p>Again, many thanks to all who contributed to our research so far. Now we're looking for schools where lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered students feel especially welcome.</p>
<p>Of course, sexual orientation is a very personal issue, and some students may be comfortable almost anywhere while others will struggle with their identity wherever they are. But, from many posts on the CC forum over the years, it's clear that certain campuses stand out when it comes to creating an environment in which LGBT students and staff are especially happy and engaged.</p>
<p>As always with these subjective evaluations, no parsing, please. We're just looking for names and rationale.</p>
<p>We need:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>College name.</p></li>
<li><p>Why you consider it an LGBT-friendly school.</p></li>
<li><p>IMPORTANT: Your knowledge source (how you know this to be true). Please don't go on reputation alone. First-hand experience is key here.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>There are many colleges that we'd call "the usual suspects" here (e.g., Oberlin, Smith, Sarah Lawrence, Emerson, Vassar, and more). We look forward to seeing your thoughts on these places, but we're especially interested in learning about other schools that may not be as quickly recognized as being LGBT-friendly communities, but where you or those you know have had good experiences.</p>
<p>Bard College and Hampshire College should be on that list.</p>
<p>Bard College recruits smart, quirky and socially liberal kids. The faculty and administration mirror the type of student they seek. I have spent a lot of time on the Bard campus over the past 30 years, know a fair number of faculty and staff, and have employed more than a dozen Bard grads and students, several of them gay. I have never met anyone associated with Bard who I’s describe as anything but supportive of LGBT colleagues and students.</p>
<p>I’m less familiar with Hampshire but when I’ve been on campus the evidence that Hampshire hosts a large and active LGBT community is hard to ignore.</p>
<p>1) College of William and Mary
2) I don’t have time to even start, but a prime example is the election of a gender queer student to be Homecoming Queen. Bill O’Reilly didn’t like it.
3) Current Student</p>
<p>Well, I don’t know what kind of colleges your family has been looking at specifically, but I guess a word for all students, anywhere: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>University of Maryland, College Park</p></li>
<li><ul>
<li>Located near a major city, Washington, DC, which certainly has its share of gay-friendly neighborhoods, dance clubs, and restaurants/bars - and since Maryland is on the metro line, it’s not just DC you can reach, but other “gay friendly” town centers, such as Takoma Park </li>
</ul></li>
<li><p>Has a huge “alternative” scene on campus, from a really active Students for a Democratic Society chapter to a food co-operative in the student union. The liberal political activist and vegetarian/vegan types tend to be supportive of queer students. The feminist clubs, literary clubs, environmentalist clubs, SDS, etc. also tend to stage a lot of events together.</p></li>
<li><p>And of course, the Pride Alliance is great, stages fun events, and also collaborates with the aforementioned clubs a lot. </p></li>
<li><p>Benefits extended to partners of LGBT professors/staff</p></li>
<li><p>Being gay at MD is like being gay in the real world…while the Pride Alliance/Pride Alliance events get decent turnout, the real gay life is mixed in with student life. Being gay isn’t a big deal, and with 40,000 students, there are also plenty of other queers around ;)</p></li>
<li><p>Out and proud UMD student</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>College name.
Le Moyne College.</p></li>
<li><p>Why you consider it an LGBT-friendly school.
You’d be surprised because it’s a Jesuit school, but there’s a very active club on campus called CARE (Creating Awareness Reaching Equality) that’s pretty much like a GSA. And just yesterday, we had a service here that was an AIDS remembrance service and hosted the Syracuse Gay and Lesbian Chorus.</p></li>
<li><p>IMPORTANT: Your knowledge source (how you know this to be true). Please don’t go on reputation alone. First-hand experience is key here.
See above.</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>College Name - Brown University</p></li>
<li><p>Why it’s LGBT friendly - They have huge LGBT events throughout the school year and a good portion of its student body are openly LGBT. </p></li>
<li><p>Knowledge Source - Friends who go there.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>1) Berkeley
2) Self-explanatory-it’s near san francisco-hello!
3) Have friends up there who say it’s amazing-co-ed dorms (meaning a guy can dorm with a girl,) gender-neutral bathrooms–it’s a really supportive school I have heard.</p>
<p>Duke being LBGT friendly, to me, is a joke. That said, I’d say Oberlin College and Swarthmore College. </p>
<p>Erin’s Dad: Oberlin is not a music school, per se. Less than 1/4 of the student body are enrolled in the Oberlin Conservatory. Most are in the College of Arts and Sciences.</p>
<p>Plainsman, Agreed but my experience is with the music school. And most schools that have conservatories tend to be more open to sexual diversity.</p>
<ol>
<li>Scripps College</li>
<li>While there’s always more work to be done, Scripps is a pretty inclusive environment. Many of the resources we have available at Scripps are actually part of the Claremont consortium (for example, the Queer Resource Center is located on Pomona College’s campus) and available to students of all 5 Claremont schools. They host events and parties for all students through out the year. There is also FAMILY, a queer mentoring program on the 5-Cs. More than these organizations though, Scripps students are welcoming of diversity in gender- although we’re a women’s college, many recognize that not all students here identify as women. </li>
<li>Current student.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>University of California a Santa Cruz</p></li>
<li><p>Former chancellor was an “out-of-the closet” lesbian who dated another administrator at the school (who moved there with her). The second largest club in Santa Cruz is a gay/lesbian spot. Also, all local high schools provide classes on not discriminating against others and on diversity issues–including on LGBT discrimination. Active LGBT groups on campus at UCSC–and, of course, locally in the SF Bay area.</p></li>
<li><p>Live close-by the university, visited the local nightclub before realizing it was solely a LGBT club, work for a local K-12 school district, and my son and I discussed his own class experiences on LGBT and diversity teaching in his K-12 district (note: he is not gay). I also work with other LGBT administrators at my district who went to UCSC and discussed their experiences while there.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>2) Tons of resources and activism regarding LGBT services, such as the Women’s Center and the LGBTRC. There are also several weeks for activism such as Generation Sex Ed Week and TransAction week, for education and teaching.</p>
<p>3) My mentor, who is in charge of the only transgender health clinic in our county, recommended that I’d apply to UC Davis based on the type of work she had seen from there. </p>
<p>Agree with Plainsman. The existence of a social community that is accepting / supportive of LGBT doesn’t make a <em>school</em> LGBT-friendly. Of course Duke will have LGBT resources and activities. So would basically any school of its size and caliber.</p>
