I know wake has been ranked poorly when it comes to LGBT acceptance, but I am looking for some peoples takes on what it’s actually like. I’ve talked to some people who went there and said it was very accepting, however everything I read seems to say otherwise.
Are most people religious and conservative? Does Greek life dominate campus? Are people really discriminatory or unaccepting? Thanks!
Wake Forest tends to be more conservative. I know several gay guys that are happy there, but then again I know gay guys who are happy at Liberty. It’s not as bad as people make it out to be. Still I’d recommend other schools for LGBT students in NC.
It isn’t that a gay student couldn’t be happy at Wake Forest, but there are many more accepting universities out there so Wake Forest is not the ideal pick.
As someone who has posted about WFU being unfriendly to LGBT students, I realize I have no first hand knowledge, just surveys. Maybe a current or past Wake student can weigh in?
I’m a gay girl btw, if anyone has any insight on that!
I was surprised by those recent rankings. Like several posts note, Wake does tend to be a little more conservative than some schools in the same geography, but not by much. Although Wake students take learning and studying very seriously, one the great things about the school is the level of student engagement. There are all kinds of groups and clubs. There are fraternities and sororities but they don’t have the social dominance you might see at other schools. Almost all students live on campus and there is always something interesting going on. My class of 2018 student reports that while there is not a large LGBT presence, there is certainly no problem with acceptance and inclusion.
I know this was posted a while ago but here’s my take as a bi girl who takes classes here…
There is a LGBT center, and most people are accepting of LGBT issues. But you also have to recognize that there’s a significant population of very conservative/entitled people who go to Wake who are quite anti-LGBT. And as with most colleges, hardcore religious students tend to be pretty homophobic.
Winston-Salem itself is relatively progressive regarding LGBT issues. I mean yes it is still in the Bible Belt… but it’s pretty urban and the people are surprisingly accepting. I mean it’s not a gay utopia but there’s a pretty active LGBT scene in the city, one example being the QPOCC (queer people of color collective) in the city, an LGBT center in the city (NorthStar), a relatively big pride event… which is impressive for a pretty small city relatively.
That being said, I would say Wake is pretty NOT accepting of many of the correlates of being LGBT for women. For example, LGBT women generally tend to be more “alternative”/act less in-line with cultural norms. And that’s definitely not a good thing to be at Wake. At the other college I attend (Salem College), I witness SO much less peer pressure (not necessarily regarding drugs/alcohol, but just about social behavior in general). People at Wake often try to be similar/fit in with the norm, whereas at the other school I attend being different was a lot more common, a lot more accepted, and a lot less stigmatized. Basically, if you can be a femme Lily-wearing cis lesbian who doesn’t threaten the gender binary at all and tries to act like everybody else except for Your One Thing (sexuality), then you’ll probably be fine. There will be some dbags but the majority will not be like that.
But if you are not really into normative behavior, it won’t be great. If you don’t dress femininely and “prep” AND are a lesbian on top, that’s a strug. If you are openly trans/non-binary/not cis, I wouldn’t recommend. If you tend to be more “alternative” or reject social norms, I would encourage you to look elsewhere. I mean, anybody can find a niche here, but if you have to search real hard for that niche and feel rejected by the university at large, is it really worth it? There’s better places. Lesbian and bisexual women already have lower graduation rates than any men or straight women.
@ibenheim As an alumnus and also as someone who associates personally with the Christian faith, I’m really sorry to hear that your experience is not as open and accepting as I believe it should (and could) be. For what it’s worth, no doubt you are transforming perspectives through relationship. I know that sounds like a hollow compliment during those times when things are tough, but thanks for sharing who you are with my alma mater and the city of Winston-Salem as well! Good luck and hope you can continue to make WFU a more diverse and tolerant place for all.