<p>Yale! About five years ago, a large campus survey found that approximately 30% of male students considered themselves gay or bisexual. (almost three times as many gay males as women who identify as lesbian at Smith.) They have largest and best funded lesbian/gay studies program in the world, which is a magnet for gay students.</p>
<p>U Texas</p>
<ul>
<li>Lots of LGBT clubs</li>
<li>Nobody cares if you’re gay</li>
<li>It’s in Austin (I would say Texas as a whole is much more accepting than even most New England states. In this thread, conservative seems to mean they hate gays. Texas is a red state, but, in Texas, conservative is a lot more libertarian than people think.)</li>
</ul>
<p>I certainly can’t claim first-hand expertise about Austin or Texas, but the constitutional amendment approved by the voters and state law via the Legislature both ban gay marriage. This hardly sounds libertarian. Maybe Austin is an island of tolerance, certainly I hear it is not typical of Texas. But excuse my sketicism about claims that this is a LBGT-friendly environment.</p>
<p>
To expand on that, it passed with 76%, and is so far-reaching that it appears to ban all marraige. Some libertarians…</p>
<p>jj1965: I’m a current student at MIT and consider it very LGBT friendly. These admissions blog posts show a few reasons why:</p>
<p>[MIT</a> Admissions | Blog Entry: “You Are Welcome Here – Out @ MIT”](<a href=“http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/life/lgbt_at_mit/you_are_welcome_here_out_mit.shtml]MIT”>http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/life/lgbt_at_mit/you_are_welcome_here_out_mit.shtml)</p>
<p>[MIT</a> Admissions | Blog Entry: “The Rainbow Lounge”](<a href=“http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/life/lgbt_at_mit/the_rainbow_lounge.shtml]MIT”>http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/life/lgbt_at_mit/the_rainbow_lounge.shtml)</p>
<p>Also, MIT’s residence selection process results in certain living groups having a disproportionate number of LGBT residents and an unusually open atmosphere.</p>
<p>Kenyon College is LGBT friendly.</p>
<p>I’m a current student. There are some gay groups on campus, I know one is centered around activism and another group is focused on building/fostering a gay community. Generally speaking, sexuality is almost a non-issue at Kenyon; people don’t care if you’re LGBT or anything in-between. And for a small LAC, I would say it seems like every other guy is gay. If someone has a specific question about being LGBT at Kenyon, or any questions about Kenyon, send me a message and I’ll try my best to answer, or I’ll put you in touch with someone who can.</p>
<p>"I am particularly skeptical of the suggestions of LACs for LGBT students. Such institutions are so small that even straight students complain about a lack of dating options, let alone L/G students. The vast majority of LACs simply don’t have a critical mass of out LGBT students, however “friendly” and “supportive” they may be. Furthermore, LACs tend to be in relatively rural/isolated areas, so options for outside dating options or support groups is often extremely limited or nonexistent.</p>
<p>“As a final point, I am beyond skeptical about anyone who claims a school is T-friendly unless (s)he has personally visited or attended that school. Investigating the existence of gender-neutral bathrooms, counseling for those undergoing a transition, and other such amenities essentially requires a visit. A warm and fuzzy environment does not make a school T-friendly. Women’s schools, particularly for MTF students, are a prime example of a group of schools requiring close examination, even though most are L/B-friendly.” - IBclass06</p>
<p>To dismiss LACs is ridiculous. Most LACs are THE best places for LGBT students. Their isolation, as you put it, makes it imperative that they be more than safe havens for LGBT students, BECAUSE there is nowhere else to go. Universities in or near major metropolitan areas don’t have to try as hard. </p>
<p>Second, having some “safe zones” or marked “safe areas” is a sure sign that a university has “unsafe zones” and “unsafe areas.” A truly inclusive campus doesn’t need designated safe zones because every LGBT student is confident that every cubic inch of the campus is a safe zone. Ultra liberal LACs tend to attract students, up and down the roster, who have similar views when it comes to inclusion. That’s not the case at large universities which attract, ironically, a student body with more wide-ranging views on politics and inclusion. More diverse views, perhaps, but that also means a larger presence of future conservative Republicans. Classic example is Penn State University, main campus. Football is king and the Greek system is extensive. It’s a very good school. You have liberals, centrists, and right wingers, and probably in equal numbers, among the university’s 40,000 students. Nothing wrong with that. You’ll find the same at other large universities like Michigan and Minnesota (I attended both). At an LAC like Oberlin, with 2,800 students, likely 90% of the student body is very liberal. If more than 2% of the student body would describe themselves as “conservative” you’ve got a scoop. And that 2% guess is probably high. The 4 Republicans on campus (yes, I’m trying to be funny but that guesstimate is probably not far off) seem to be underground. If anything, THEY need a safe zone.</p>
<p>So I’d target LACs that exclude the Greek system and are safe EVERYWHERE on campus, including bathroom facilities. Again, Oberlin, Macalaster, Swarthmore, Wesleyan are THE most inclusive places for LGBT students, including T’s. I’m sure there are other colleges like Bard, Reed, etc., but I’m less familiar with them. I have friends who attended Macalaster, Swarthmore and Weslyan. I have a child currently at Penn State, another currently at Oberlin, and I attended both Michigan and Minnesota, so I’m familiar with the schools I’ve listed.</p>
<p>Trouble at Williams:</p>
<p>[Open</a> Letter to the Williams Community | Queer Life at Williams](<a href=“http://queer.williams.edu/?p=317]Open”>http://queer.williams.edu/?p=317)
[Support</a> from President-Elect, Adam F. Falk | Queer Life at Williams](<a href=“http://queer.williams.edu/?p=337]Support”>http://queer.williams.edu/?p=337)</p>
<p>There have been a small number of troubling incidents such as this at Williams over the past ten years or so, directed at both sexual and racial minorities. My hope is that the new President will be able to tackle the problems there head on.</p>
<p>One gay student I helped ended up at Reed, but reported on arrival being a bit disappointed that there were no active gay organizations on campus. It seems that there are no gay issues, that nobody notices or cares about students’ various orientations. I would expect this to be the case at most other LACs, but there is still ^ at least one exception.</p>
<p>Plainsman, I could not disagree more.</p>
<p>I notice you completely ignored my point about a lack of dating options. Would you care to [url=<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1063402146-post2.html]estimate[/url”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1063402146-post2.html]estimate[/url</a>] the number of out gay or lesbian students at a typical LAC? </p>
<p>I’m not just making stuff up here – I’m a gay student who has attended both a small, extremely LGBT-friendly private university (undergrad) and a large, reasonably liberal public (grad). It is the latter that has had the more vibrant community.</p>
<p>Most LGB students don’t need to be coddled at a place like Bard or Hampshire. The average age for coming out is 12/13 now, and the majority of LGB students are fairly comfortable by the time they reach college. What’s more important, from my experience and the LGB students I’m friends with and have talked to, is a large and diverse community, and that is usually found at larger schools.</p>
<p>
Last time I checked, Reed had a reasonably active queer alliance.</p>
<p>^^LGBT students may not need to be “coddled” to any lesser or greater degree than straight students, but, they are certainly entitled to the same benefits of a tight community in which they are able to regard their fellow students and in-turn, be regarded as something other than sexual predators. Yes, there’s less dating at LACs. That seems to be the big trade-off for LACs. But, that’s true for all LAC students. They get their freak on in a different way than they would at a large, less personal university. And, I think the pay-off is that they see themselves as well as other students as human beings first.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>To add to eisensteinprime’s comment about MIT:</p>
<p>MIT had an openly gay student body president in 2005-2006. During the election, his sexual orientation was a non-issue. I know this because I was his running mate. :)</p>
<p>It varies somewhat by where on campus you live, but on the whole, it’s a very accepting community. During the various Massachusetts Constitutional Conventions regarding same-sex marriage, one dorm hung rainbow flags from its windows, and students from all around campus attended the pro-same-sex-marriage rallies. National Coming Out Day is widely celebrated. There’s a lot of community encouragement for straight people to be allies, as well. </p>
<p>Most dorms have gender-neutral bathrooms, and many academic buildings do. The process for students to get their names changed on official MIT records is straightforward. I have known trans students to get school email addresses (which incorporated their old names) changed with little to no problem. The athletic phys ed department allows trans students to use the locker room facilities of their gender identity, and also has a gender-neutral changing room.</p>
<p>MIT’s nondiscrimination policy includes protections for both sexual orientation and gender identity.</p>
<p>It also has -</p>
<ul>
<li><p>The Rainbow Lounge (a safe space/place to hang out for LGBT students, which also keeps a collection of LGBT-themed literature and films)</p></li>
<li><p>Multiple active LBGT student groups</p></li>
<li><p>A counselor at Student Support Services who is LBGT and specializes in supporting LBGT students</p></li>
<li><p>A joint faculty/student/staff LBGT issues committee, which also has a Race & Sexuality Task Force and works to raise awareness of the issues of LBGT students of color</p></li>
<li><p>Trans@MIT, which provides information and resources for trans students, and conducts training for allies to help them help their living and student groups to be more trans-friendly</p></li>
<li><p>An LBGT alumni group that provides opportunities for students to network with them</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Supporting Erin’s Dad about conservatories and thus, let’s add:
Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM)- a safe and welcoming atmosphere in which to be “out”.
That being said, not ALL conservatories will be on the list- the few that have large and important Organ Peformance departmenrs or Liturgical Organ Majors attract larger numbers of Mormon students and they can and do object loudly and openly to the presence and acceptance of the LGBT students.</p>
<p>Duke definitely has a pretty good LGBT community. Not too many from what I’ve seen so far but definitely a great community. People are very accepting here.</p>
<p>I wanted to second the suggestion of Duke. My D is openly gay and started there this semester. She has gotten involved in lots of LGBT center activities, went with a group of students to the gay rights march in Washington, and attended a statewide convention on gay rights. She has made a lot of friends at Duke and is very happy there.</p>
<p>Mezzo’sMom, very interesting. I didn’t know there were that many Mormon organists. Many friends who are organists are gay.</p>
<p>IBClass, The OP was asking for supportive communities. I didn’t see a question about the depth of the dating pool.</p>
<p>
Hey, sorry for not jumping on the LAC bandwagon. Notice that nowhere in my posts did I specifically say applicants should not apply to LACs. I simply wanted such applicants to be aware that LACs come with a serious caveat. </p>
<p>If you read the original post, you’ll see that it included
I’d say a large variety of LGBT people and dating options can help a great deal with student happiness (particularly if you are a LGBT person of color).</p>
<p>“I simply wanted such applicants to be aware that LACs come with a serious caveat.”</p>
<p>All of them, or just some? I wouldn’t say that every big U comes with the same caveat; I don’t think a coastal U gets the caveat.</p>
<p>
Oh, not all of them. As I said before, urban schools would have an advantage in this respect (e.g. Barnard, Occidental, Macalester, etc.), as well as schools in a consortium (5 colleges, Claremont, Quaker). Larger LACs like Oberlin would also have an advantage over other LACs.</p>
<p>I was mostly referring to the “average LAC.” Schools like Wesleyan and Swarthmore are exceptions, not the rule. On the other hand, even very mediocre universities usually have a decent-sized LGBT population. Put a different way, a gay student might well be better served at, say, Ohio State than Knox.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>True, but the whole point of this thread is to point out the exceptions - the schools that go out of their way to welcome LGBT students. A school that’s renowned for being accepting and accommodating will attract a disproportionately high number of queer students, so using the 10% figure to estimate the size of the LGBT community is misleading. It’s been my experience at Oberlin that although we are definitely not a large university, way more than 10% of campus is openly non-heterosexual (I won’t try to estimate the number that are closeted). The queer community is large enough that there’s a substantial dating pool that I haven’t tapped (pun intended), and most queer folks don’t struggle to find dates any more than straight students do. A “mediocre” university might have a larger LGBT community, but it wouldn’t necessarily be as open or have as significant an impact on the campus culture.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I couldn’t agree more strongly with this. Assuming that an LGB-friendly school is also T-friendly ignores the fact that trans students have several needs that don’t affect most LGB students: housing, bathrooms, health care, and specific institutional resources. I’d recommend that people who are looking for trans-friendly schools read threads specifically about trans students (like [this</a> one](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/734340-best-transgender-student.html]this”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/734340-best-transgender-student.html)), rather than about “LGBT” students in general.</p>