I know that every school will have some homophobia and prejudice. But is the general/overall Tech population chill and down with LGBTQ+ rights? What about the administration?
And what about other social justice issues? (Ex: racism and sexism)
The student body is broadly accepting of members of the LGBTQIA community and the last two administrations (Peterson and Cabrera), have been supportive.
As one example, in 1996, 2002, 2005, and 2011, student leaders took out multiple page ads in the Technique (the student newspaper) showing hundreds of signatures under the banner “It’s okay to be gay at Georgia Tech. We, the undersigned, support our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender friends and colleagues at Georgia Tech.” Signatures were gathered from students, faculty, staff, and alumni from the Tech community, all of whom were supportive of the acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) yellow jackets.
In 2014, the administration funded an LGBTQIA resource center with a full time director to provide support for faculty and staff and education for the broader Tech community. The establishment of this center followed grass roots efforts by members of the Student Government Association and aggressive lobbying by Dean Stephanie Ray, the Associate Dean of Students and the Director of Student Diversity Programs. The center now has a second full-time staff, several graduate assistants, and recently moved to larger, renovated, office spaces in the Flag building, all signs continued support from the administration. You can read more about the center’s resources here: https://lgbtqia.gatech.edu/
The official school policy includes protections for the standard categories of federally protected classes, as well as for other classes that are not (yet) explicitly protected under federal law, including for sexual orientation and gender identity:
"Georgia Tech prohibits discrimination, including discriminatory harassment, on the basis of race, ethnicity, ancestry, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetics, or veteran status in its programs, activities, employment, and admissions. This prohibition applies to faculty, staff, students, and all other members of the Georgia Tech community, including affiliates, invitees, and guests. "
I would encourage to reach out to Camilla Brewer, the current coordinator for the LGBTQ resource center is you have further questions: camilla.brewer@studentlife.gatech.edu
You will find students groups on campus that are focused on advancing a number of social justice causes, but I would not say that the student body as a whole is very interested in these issues, or in politics in general. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Tech is apolitical, as there are many politically active students and groups, but the campus is not a bastion for student activism. If that is what interest you though, you will find fellow kindred spirits at Tech.
All of the above, plus Atlanta is a very gay friendly city going back decades.