Finding a Gay-Friendly Campus

The New York Times has a story that looks at a phenomenon that is becoming more common - a college fair for LGBT college applicants where colleges and universities market themselves as being open to diversity and where LGBT students can feel safe. The phenomenon is clearly lost on Virginia's Opus Dei style Catholic Attorney General, Ken Kookinelli, who a little over a month ago did all but tell LGBT students that they are not welcome at Virginia's public institutions and that. if the do come to Virginia, they have no non-discrimination protections. Kookinelli is truly an ass and a crazy one at that. But I digress. In today's competitive collegiate atmosphere, top schools cannot just take it for granted that LGBT students will flock to their campuses if the atmosphere is unfriendly and/or not safe for sexual minority students. Here are some highlights from The Times story:
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The scene was similar to one that plays out thousands of times a year in gyms and auditoriums around the country: a college fair. . . . The only thing that might have made this one appear out of the ordinary was the preponderance of handouts with rainbow designs, and the fact that the fair was being held at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center in Greenwich Village. This college fair, and several like it around the country, was devoted to recruiting gay students.
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While Ivy League schools are often represented, the fairs also attract lesser-known institutions like Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Scott A. McIntyre, associate director of admissions there, says that his university attends some 500 fairs each year, and that including one for gay students made sense.
“The more I can help my institution be open to diversity of all different kinds,” he says, “it’s just going to make us a stronger university, and it’s going to make our student body be more robust.”
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Students are looking for colleges where they will feel comfortable and safe, Mr. Windmeyer says. Also, he says, “straight students who have gay family members want to find a campus that is welcoming,” so, for example, two moms can show up for parents weekend without a ripple. “They don’t want to pick a college that’s not going to be accepting of people they love.”
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Another reason for a student to be up front about sexual orientation: scholarships and other financial help have emerged from such groups as the Point Foundation, the League Foundation at AT&T, and Colage (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere).
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The University of Pennsylvania made waves this year when the online publication Inside Higher Ed reported on the university’s new outreach policy: applicants whose essay identifies them as gay are put in touch with gay students and organizations on campus. Eric J. Furda, the dean of admissions, told the publication that it was doing for gay applicants what it has long done for other groups.