College can be hard enough without needing to worry about bodily harm. Unfortunately, despite us moving into the third decade of the 21st century, bigotry is still present. Many people on the LGBT spectrum still have to make life decisions based on safety. This list of colleges all have pro-LGBT stances.
The University of California in Santa Cruz, California
The Diversity Centre offers a little bit of everything when it comes to its LGBT students. There are legal advice referrals, mental health counselling. There are even specific in-house facilities for LGBT students to use so that they feel safe! What makes the centre seem like it would be one of the better places for LGBT students is the Q chat space. An entirely digital space for LGBT teenagers. The space itself is designed to bring LGBT teenagers together, and help them find their own communities. All reviews of the service are positive.
Brown University in Providence, R.I.
The LGBTQ Centre is the first one which has a Covid-19 update at the top of its screen. This gets it an extra point from me. In these scary times, it is good to know that LGBT students will still have access to the services on offer.
The centre itself offers services that LGBT students might need, such as a mentoring service, or access to educational resources. It is unusual because many of its services are open the local community, not just the student body. This provides opportunities for students to see the communities that exist beyond the campus. Certain graduating students are given a community leadership award if they can show a positive impact on the lives of LGBT students. I particularly like the emphasis on community life which is found in the LGBTQ Centre there.
San Diego State University in San Diego, California
San Diego State University runs what is called the Pride Centre, a facility specifically for LGBT students. This centre offers counselling of various kinds, a drug rehabilitation programme, and inclusive bathrooms, among other things. The centre is best known for running campus-wide educational campaigns. These bring the problems and experiences of LGBT students to the fore for all students, not just those who use the facilities on offer.
There are activities for specific groups under the LGBT banner, such as a group specifically for people of colour, and for Trans people.
Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Many of the best writers at Edu Jungles have come from Harvard University. Harvard has a well-deserved reputation, and its LGBT office is only adding to it. The office runs various events and groups for students in the LGBT community. The physical office includes gender-neutral bathroom space to help students feel more comfortable.
The University of Washington in Seattle, Washington
The Q Centre in UW has been in place since 1999. It offers a huge variety of services, including help in changing your name legally, special housing options, a newsletter, and more. The centre runs educational events for all students. One example is the Safer Zone Project. This project is an attempt to reduce discrimination against people of different sexual orientations or gender expressions. Between these events and the mentorship programme that runs for LGBT students, UW has many options for helping students that are from minority groups, and makes use of them.
University of California in Santa Barbara, California
I’m personally very impressed by the look of the Resource Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity. It is a good-looking website. The centre itself runs its own programmes and events for LGBT students. It also partners with a wide variety of services outside of its own purview. This is likely an attempt to integrate LGBT students into the greater student body.
Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri
Unusually among the glbt friendly colleges, Washington University hosts a two day LGBT retreat. This retreat focuses on leadership within the community, as well as individual identities. The university runs a lot of student groups for LGBT students to find their own communities. The health and wellness centre is pledged to provide care to any type of gender or sexuality.
Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona
Northern Arizona University is mostly better known for its athletics than being a gay college. Its Inclusion Centre is a very comprehensively thought out institution in its own right. The website itself is very well designed, leading students to the services they want. While the office is not specifically focused on LGBT issues, it runs plenty of groups and services. The site includes a map of all the gender neutral bathrooms on the campus.
Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio
One of the best parts of Ohio’s work with LGBT students is the LGBT initiatives program. This gives each individual LGBT community its own specific focus, and teaches students about them. As an LGBT friendly college, the Multicultural Centre is a space where students can learn leadership skills in a safe space. This sets them up for their future careers, and helps to introduce them to other queer communities. The college itself organises open days which focus on potential students from LGBT communities. This gives them an opportunity to meet current students, and see the campus for themselves.
Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J.
Rutgers is quite possibly one of the best gay colleges in America purely because it offers students housing. This housing takes the form of gender-neutral rooms, or an entire community of similar people. This housing includes options for first-year students to apply for roommates who share similar interests to themselves. This is very effective at helping LGBT students feel more at home on campus right away. The college itself funds several undergraduate scholarships specifically designed to help potential LGBT students. The college offers specific groups for its LGBT students, including one that is for POC.
The University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois
The University of Chicago has become known as one of the most LGBT friendly colleges because of a Gender and Sexuality Centre on campus. This centre runs programmes which are both sociable and academic in nature. Many people who have gone to this college state that the Centre was what made them feel freely themselves. The centre manages to incorporate life on campus with life off-campus. Weekly discussion groups with the community allow students to meet local LGBT activists. The centre also helps point students in the direction of academic resources that they might need. Everything is combined to make students comfortable on campus.
These are the most LGBT friendly colleges today. If you are LGBT and have some worries about college, then hopefully this will have helped you. We want everyone to have a good experience at college. Hopefully the promise of a safe college will prompt you to be the best person you can be!
