<p>"Last week the University of Iowa added an optional question to its application for undergraduate admission: 'Do you identify with the LGBTQ Community?' The university has also given applicants a third gender option, allowing prospective undergraduates and graduate students to identify themselves as 'transgender' instead of 'male' or 'female.'</p>
<p>With those changes, Iowa becomes the first public universityand only the second college in the United Statesto ask applicants about their sexual orientation and gender identity, a practice some gay-rights advocates predict will soon be common . . ."</p>
<p>Sadly, most of the commentors failed to closely read the article but instead used it as an opportunity to telegraph their feelings about gays, pro or con.</p>
<p>1) answering the question is OPTIONAL. 2) the answer is not used to weigh admission</p>
<p>Personally, I think it’s great. I think Barron is an awesome admissions director who’s done great things for the university and is highly progressive.</p>
<p>My daughter (not at Iowa) is a first year student and her best friend is a young gay man who is not out. He is very much depending on and hoping for acceptance from his school community to make this transition easier for him, something he couldn’t do in his small town in high school. I say, anything that sends a signal of tolerance and acceptance is a good thing.</p>
<p>My D (who is gay and a HS senior this year) and I were discussing this on the car ride to school this morning. Her reaction: “Iowa?!? They probably are asking so they can put all the LGBT people in one dorm together, thinking they are doing us a favor.” </p>
<p>She is pretty well versed in LGBT political issues, and observed that even though gay marriage is legal in Iowa, it was by court order, and the judges who decided it were booted from office in the next election. </p>
<p>I realize that housing placement is not an intention of U of Iowa per the article. But just saying, that is one gay teen’s reaction to the question on the application.</p>
<p>The point or intent of the question aside, I think “Do you identify with the LGBTQ Community?" is a terribly worded, lazy-thinking, ambiguous question.</p>
<p>What does “identify” mean in this question? It is not clear at all.
Indentify could mean “sympathetic to” or it could mean “I identify myself as one.” Kinship? Affinity? Understanding? Closeness? Similarity?</p>
<p>I tell my children and the people who work for me the exact same thing: Write what you mean.</p>
<p>intparent, I’m curious, would your daughter answer the question? She obviously views it in a much larger context, but if it concerned her specifically, what would she do?</p>
<p>GolfFather, I think the ambiguity is intentional as their stated intent is as much to send a message of inclusiveness (with the answer perhaps being of secondary imporantance) as it is to have answers which generate emails to the student, etc. I think the ambiguity would allow a young person who was uncertain of their orientation to answer Yes and feel OK about it, whereas if it asked pointedly about orientation many would say No.</p>
<p>In my opinion, it doesn’t seem like a good idea to pigeon-hole people into racial, religious, sexual, ethnic or economic buckets. That promotes separatism rather than unity.</p>
<p>Go for what you want, work hard and don’t let anyone get in your way. Good luck students!</p>