<p>I've heard that there are many gay students at Vassar. How does this compare with other liberal arts colleges? How many students are gay/lesbian/etc?</p>
<p>In my opinion, it's hard to put a number on this... after all, schools don't usually poll students in order to find out their sexual preference. That being said, I would say the chief difference between Vassar and other places (say, the high school I went to, because I haven't attended another college) is the way in which the LGBT community expresses itself. </p>
<p>Although LGBT students are a minority at Vassar, they are nevertheless vocal. Basically, because Vassar is such an accepting place, students feel comfortable with being themselves and don't feel a need to adopt a "veneer of straightness." You'll see, for example, LGBT couples walking around holding hands on-campus, just like straight couples do. The LGBT campus organizations (Act Out & the Queer Coalition at Vassar College, QCVC) are also very active in terms of arranging events for both club members and the community at large. During Freshman Orientation each year, for example QCVC hosts an event called "Gays of Our Lives," which is one of the best-attended events of the year. Open to all students, this is an event where student panelists talk about sexuality at Vassar in a fun, open format. The clubs have also hosted speakers on-campus (such as Erin Davies, owner of Fag Bug), helped sponsor campus dances (Cross Over, a cross-dress themed dance), and taken students on trips to encourage activism (last year, I believe there was a protest students attended in Washington DC).</p>
<p>Vassar's queer community is great. QCVC has a strong presence on campus and there's also a place called Blegen House which is... well, I'm not quite sure what it is, but it's basically an LBGTQ support system, as far as I know. Vassar is incredibly open when it comes to gay issues and very tolerant. I lived in Joss (one of the dorms) last year and our house fellows (faculty members that live in the dorm) are a lesbian couple who have children. I don't know much about other schools' queer cultures, but from what I can tell, Vassar is the kind of place for people who don't want to experience discrimination.</p>