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Message to the Class of 2024

LGBTQ College Graduates: Lavender Ceremony

In May 2024, I delivered the commencement address at the University of Texas at Arlington’s Lavender Graduation, a ceremony celebrating the LGBTQ and ally class of 2024. Returning to my alma mater is always an honor but this time felt different.

In the last year, regressive legislators, led by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, have banned Diversity, Education and Inclusive initiatives at public universities like UT Arlington.  Filed and approved last spring, Texas Senate Bill 17 requires universities to close DEI offices and bans additional initiatives. As a result, LGBTQ-focused offices that provided healthcare, community-focused programming, and counseling, as with other essential programs, shuttered their official university operations by the end of last year.

I am the News Coordinator for GLAAD. I have previously worked for NBC 5, the Dallas Morning News, and UTA’s award-winning student newspaper, The Shorthorn. The former LGBTQ program I looked to for resources and community is now gone. Still, what remains and cannot be erased is the spirit of an optimistic staff and courageous students with a bright future ahead of them. As a gay Texas native who now works for a major LGBTQ advocacy organization, I couldn’t ignore the gravity of this moment. I had to speak from my experience of what I gained from being defiant, proud and queer. Stubborn, even.
 

Follow Your Heart and Remain Stubborn: A Message to the Class of 2024
Reasons Why Coming Out in College Is Actually the Best

Most LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges and Universities in the US

This College Track & Field Star is Breaking Records as His Authentic Gay Self

Most Progressive, Diverse, Inclusive Universities in the US

LGBTQ Community Resources for College Students

My College Roommate Became a Close Friend... Then I Started to Develop Feelings
When Leaving Campus Means Going Back Into the Closet

Things Queer Students Should Know Before Going to College

LGBTQ Elders Share Their Thoughts About Today's Queer Youth
Issues LGBTQ Students Might Face

University of Texas at Arlington’s Lavender Commencement Address:

Class of 2024: This is a celebratory moment. I promise it is.  Few experiences feel like this, graduating. Let your guard down and embrace this moment.  I know this moment may be difficult, too. As a recent graduate, I get it.

UTA is my second home. I studied long nights at the Central Library, met a professor whose wise words are now sketched on my arm and my memory and yes, I even thought I fell in love once while sitting with the cutest guy in the CAPPA courtyard.

Mostly, I spent countless hours in The Shorthorn newsroom below us. There, I was the paper’s Opinion Editor and Life and Entertainment Editor where my passion lay in ensuring the student body felt represented.

I reported on the power of the Black women vote in 2020, two alumni who are now successful artists in Dallas (and also married,) the potential removal of an early voting location on campus, the 2018 senate election and a profile on an alumna who took to the art of drag to express her true gender identity.

Still, at times, my passion and decisions were questioned. As a member of a marginalized community, could I continue to report on said community? Can a queer reporter report on the university’s annual drag show?

Those were actual discussions I had with my colleagues, many of whom were also my friends. That was rough and quite honestly, troubling. Still, I remained stubborn and in my heart of hearts, knew I was creating a professional and personal journey I could be proud of. Despite pushback, I moved forward and now it’s my job to ensure my community is not only represented but fairly so.
 

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Texas and Florida Schools Excluded From LGBTQ-Friendly College List
Ron DeSantis Wants to Scrub AP Classes of LGBTQ Subjects
LGBTQ 2023: The Rising Tide

Campus Pride: The Worst List 2022

Florida Bill Targets Diversity Studies at State Universities

So now is the time to ask yourself: What do you have to lose in being stubborn?  As graduating students, members of the LGBTQ community and allies, there is so much operating against us. Our country, our state and our public institutions are regressing at a rapid rate. Reject those regressions and hold onto your convictions. Institutions will try to silence your voices, your identity. Do not let them. Organize, speak out, write on and ensure that your voices are heard.

What we’ve learned from the past is that for far too long, powers above us will try to silence you. It happened in Stonewall in 1969, San Francisco in 1979 and as recent as 2020 in the fight for racial equity. Yes, it is even happening now across college campuses in the United States. You, as students, as graduates, have every right to freely express your beliefs and your identity without fear of pushback. Especially today, remember that.

Even tonight, after even the most recent of setbacks on campus, here you are, at a Lavender Graduation– celebrating not only your successes but your community and your freedom to love and express yourself. That is an act of defiance. As your influence grows, remain defiant. If your mission in life is to build community and create a better world or if it is just simply live, do so with determination. We deserve that much. You deserve that much.

Graduates, you have come so far, you have seen so much, but there is still so much to do. So tonight, in the face of adversity, remain courageous. Embrace what it means to be stubborn. I have seen it in you. Especially these last few months. I see it and I’m hopeful. I believe in you all. And so, Class of 2024, my message to you is this: Follow your heart and remain stubborn.

[Source: Jacob Reyes, News Coordinator for GLAAD, May 2024]

Follow Your Heart and Remain Stubborn: A Message to the Class of 2024
Reasons Why Coming Out in College Is Actually the Best

Most LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges and Universities in the US

This College Track & Field Star is Breaking Records as His Authentic Gay Self

Most Progressive, Diverse, Inclusive Universities in the US

LGBTQ Community Resources for College Students

My College Roommate Became a Close Friend... Then I Started to Develop Feelings

When Leaving Campus Means Going Back Into the Closet

Things Queer Students Should Know Before Going to College

LGBTQ Elders Share Their Thoughts About Today's Queer Youth
Issues LGBTQ Students Might Face

Most LGBTQ Friendly Colleges

Welcoming Campuses

Campus Pride’s 2021 Best of the Best LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges and Universities list includes schools from Massachusetts to Oregon, from Wisconsin to Texas. And this year the organization is also highlighting community colleges and religious schools leading the way in inclusion.

“More than ever, colleges today want to be viewed as LGBTQ-friendly and a welcoming place for all students. LGBTQ students and their safety impacts the recruitment efforts of the entire campus,” Campus Pride Executive Director Shane Windmeyer said in a press release. “Upper-level administrators are now understanding how LGBTQ-friendliness is key to academic success of students and the future institutional success of the campus.”

Most LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges and Universities in the US
Kamala Harris College Tour Inspires Young People to Fight for LGBTQ Rights

Texas and Florida Schools Excluded From LGBTQ-Friendly College List
Ron DeSantis Wants to Scrub AP Classes of LGBTQ Subjects
LGBTQ 2023: The Rising Tide

Campus Pride: The Worst List 2022

Florida Bill Targets Diversity Studies at State Universities

“Seeing the representation of schools from every corner of the country and highlighting the efforts of community colleges and even religious institutions really underlines the successes Campus Pride has had over our 20 years,” added Tom Elliott, Campus Pride board chair. “The work we’ve done with student leaders, and the resources Campus Pride continues to provide them, is making the higher education experience safer and more welcoming to LGBTQ students nationwide.”

The main Best of the Best list comprises 30 four-year institutions that have achieved five out of five stars on the Campus Pride Index, a benchmarking tool that tracks LGBTQ-friendly policies, programs, and practices.

[Source: Campus Pride, August 2021]

Campus Pride

Follow Your Heart and Remain Stubborn: A Message to the Class of 2024

Reasons Why Coming Out in College Is Actually the Best

This College Track & Field Star is Breaking Records as His Authentic Gay Self

Most LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges and Universities in the US

LGBTQ Students Harassed at Christian Colleges

Most Progressive, Diverse, Inclusive Universities in the US

LGBTQ Community Resources for College Students
When Leaving Campus Means Going Back Into the Closet

Things Queer Students Should Know Before Going to College

LGBTQ Elders Share Their Thoughts About Today's Queer Youth

LGBTQ Students More Likely to Leave Home for College in More Welcoming States
Issues LGBTQ Students Might Face

Update: Campus Pride Dumps Florida and Texas Universities from Best of Best List
 

Higher education must instill values of diversity and inclusion in order to create a quality, productive workforce

Campus Pride won’t include Florida or Texas schools in its list of best colleges and universities for LGBTQ students to attend. Instead, the organization issued a “red alert” warning the schools will inevitably fall in rankings and that state leaders have put institutions’ academic reputations at risk.

“Campus Pride stands by every campus being negatively impacted by anti-LGBTQ laws in the states of Florida and Texas,” said Campus Pride founder, CEO, and executive director Shane Mendez Windmeyer. “Higher education must instill values of diversity and inclusion in order to create a quality, productive workforce. The classroom must be safe, and create a welcoming academic learning environment.”

The national organization, in existence since 2001, each year releases its Best of the Best LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges and Universities list.

 

Campus Pride Dumps Florida and Texas Universities from Best of Best List
Texas and Florida Schools Excluded From LGBTQ-Friendly College List Over New State Laws

Florida Bill Targets Diversity Studies at State Universities

These Are the Nation's Most LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges, Universities

But Mendez Windmeyer said new laws instituted in both states compromise that environment.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in May 2023 signed a law barring the state’s public colleges and universities from spending any funds on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives programs or classes. Campus Pride specifically cited that law in a release announcing both the University of Central Florida and the University of North Florida, despite appearing in the rankings in the past, would be dumped this year. That’s despite UNF topping the list of universities in the Southeast United States in 2022, and UCF receiving the highest listing for any Florida school in 2021.

Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also signed a similar law, which has forced the closure of LGBTQ resource centers for students on Texas campuses. This means Texas Tech University and the University of Texas at Dallas, which both have earned Campus Pride recognition on its Best of the Best lists in years past, won’t receive the accolades this year. The two campuses were the only ones in the Southwest United States to make the list last year.

Moreover, Campus Pride cautions students considering higher education in either state as anti-queer crusades continue in Austin and Tallahassee.

“These laws are being weaponized against LGBTQ people, needlessly endangering the safety and well-being of students on campuses across the states of Florida and Texas,” Mendez Windmeyer said. “Already we are hearing from prospective students and families that they are choosing colleges elsewhere.”

“It is truly sad, when political leaders use people as pawns,” said Manny Velásquez-Paredes, director of the LGBTQ Center at the University of North Florida, in a press release about the exclusion. “It is clear to every rational human being that diversity, equity, and inclusion are meant to create awareness and embrace, celebrate, and include our differences. However, we have found ourselves in the middle of a political culture war that is meant to divide us. Their attacks on the LGBTQ community have been deeply felt this past legislative session, with over 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in the US.”

[Source: Jacon Ogles, Advocate, September 2023]

Follow Your Heart and Remain Stubborn: A Message to the Class of 2024

Kamala Harris College Tour Inspiring Critical Generation of Young People in Fight for LGBTQ Rights

This College Track & Field Star is Breaking Records as His Authentic Gay Self

Texas and Florida Schools Excluded From LGBTQ-Friendly College List Over New State Laws
Ron DeSantis Wants to Scrub AP Classes of LGBTQ Subjects
LGBTQ 2023: The Rising Tide

Campus Pride: The Worst List 2022

My College Roommate Became a Close Friend... Then I Started to Develop Feelings

Florida Bill Targets Diversity Studies at State Universities
Worst List: Colleges That are Unsafe for LGBTQ Students
Intelligent: LGBTQ College Student Guide
Taylor Swift: NYU 2022 Commencement Speaker
University Marching Band Impresses with Halftime Show in Support of LGBTQ Rights
LGBTQ Students File Class Action Lawsuit Against US Dept of Education

Reasons Why Coming Out in College Is Actually the Best

Issues LGBTQ Students Might Face

Vice President Harris Touring US Colleges and Universities

The Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour...

US vice president Kamala Harris embarks on a university tour to encourage young people to fight for their “fundamental rights and freedoms.”

It was announced in September 2023 that Harris will be touring universities in an effort to mobilize students on key issues such as LGBTQ rights, as well as encouraging students to register to vote. The Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour takes President Joe Biden’s VP through key swing states including Georgia, North Carolina and Nevada – states which could prove critical for the Democrats in the 2024 presidential election.

Kamala Harris: Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour

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Intelligent: LGBTQ College Student Guide
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Issues LGBTQ Students Might Face

According to the White House, the month-long tour focuses on “key issues that disproportionately impact young people across the country, from reproductive freedom and gun safety to climate action, voting rights, LGBTQ equality, and book bans“. Harris’ tour also focuses on historically Black universities, as well as community colleges and apprenticeship programs.

“This generation is critical to the urgent issues that are at stake right now for our future,” the vice president said in a statement.  “It is young leaders throughout America who know what the solutions look like and are organizing in their communities to make them a reality. My message to students is clear: we are counting on you, we need you, you are everything.”

Harris is the first female vice president in US history, as well as the first African-American and first Asian-American vice president – and the first sitting VP to march in a Pride parade. She has been consistently outspoken on LGBTQ rights, slamming hateful legislation like Florida’s reviled Don’t Say Gay law as “outrageous”.

Condemning a rise in anti-LGBTQ bills being introduced in America in 2023, Harris said: “There are over 600 bills being proposed, anti-LGBTQ bills … people are afraid to be themselves, these are fundamental issues that point to the need for us all to be vigilant, to stand together.”

Campus Pride

Follow Your Heart and Remain Stubborn: A Message to the Class of 2024

Most LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges and Universities in the US

LGBTQ Students Harassed at Christian Colleges

Most Progressive, Diverse, Inclusive Universities in the US

LGBTQ Community Resources for College Students
When Leaving Campus Means Going Back Into the Closet

Things Queer Students Should Know Before Going to College

LGBTQ Elders Share Their Thoughts About Today's Queer Youth

My College Roommate Became a Close Friend... Then I Started to Develop Feelings

LGBTQ Students More Likely to Leave Home for College in More Welcoming States
Issues LGBTQ Students Might Face

Gay Men Have the Highest Rates of Degree Attainment in US

Academic Success for Gay Boys

While it's been widely documented that women have been outnumbering men in attaining bachelor's degrees at currently a 60:40 ratio, a new study by a Notre Dame researcher considers how those numbers change according to sexual identity. 

Ultimately, the study, "Intersecting the Academic Gender Gap: The Education of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual America," found that gay men earn significantly more degrees than straight men, while the overall number of lesbian women earning degrees is declining.  "Across analyses, I reveal two demographic facts," said Dr. Joel Mittleman, an assistant professor of sociology at Notre Dame and author of the study. "First, women's rising academic advantages are largely confined to straight women. Although lesbian women historically outpaced straight women, in contemporary cohorts, lesbian and bisexual women face significant academic disadvantages. Second, boys' well-documented underperformance obscures one group with remarkably high levels of school success: gay boys."

Gay Men More Likely to Graduate College
Gay Men Earn College Degrees at Highest Rate in US

According to Mittleman, 52% of gay men in the US have a bachelor's degree, a total of 16 percentage points higher than the national average. Putting that number into a global perspective, Mittleman writes, "If America's gay men were considered on their own, they would have, by far, the highest college completion rate in the world: easily surpassing the current leader, Luxembourg, at 46.6 percent."

Additionally, the study found that 6% of gay men in the US have an advanced degree (JD, MD, PhD), which is 50% higher than the number of straight men with degrees and, notably, is a trend that remained true across the four largest racial/ethnic groups (white, Black, Hispanic and Asian).

Just why gay men are earning more degrees than straight men, is a question Mittleman explores, hypothesizing that gay men may respond to societal homophobia by "overcompensating" academically. "Whereas the rules of masculinity may feel obscure or unattainable, the rules of school can feel discrete and manageable," he writes. "Whereas the approval of a parent may be uncertain, the praise of a teacher can be regularly earned with the right amount of effort."

Meanwhile, Mittleman found that lesbian women were twice as likely to report dropping out of high school than straight women — a trend, he hypothesizes, that could be indicative of teacher discrimination.
 

[Source: Jessica Ruf, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, Nov 2021]

Campus Pride

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Intelligent: LGBTQ College Student Guide
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Mental Health for LGBTQ Students

Issues LGBTQ Students Might Face

Worst List: Colleges That are Unsafe for LGBTQ Students

LGBTQ Students Harassed at Christian Colleges

LGBTQ Podcasts for College Students

Campus Issues for LGBTQ Students

Inclusive Educational Environment?

Is Your College LGBTQ Friendly?  Do LGBTQ students feel safe and accepted on their college campus? Choosing the right college may be critical in determining whether or not you feel respected and accepted. Does your campus have an inclusive environment? Or does it isolate and marginalize its LGBTQ population? LGBTQ college students are encouraged to consider their college's policies, faculty and staff, commitment to LGBTQ support, student life, academic life, campus housing, campus safety, counseling and health services, and recruitment efforts.

--Does your campus include sexual orientation and gender identity/expression in the written non-discrimination policy statement and in written statements about diversity and multiculturalism?
--Does your campus provide domestic partner benefits for LGBTQ employees with same-sex partners?
--Does your campus have a Safe Zone program or Safe Space program (an ongoing network of visible people on campus who identify openly as allies for LGBTQ people and concerns)?
--Does your campus have a professional staff person who is employed to increase campus awareness of LGBTQ concerns/issues as part of his/her job description?

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Study Abroad: Most LGBTQ Friendly Countries

Chronicle of Higher Education: What LGBTQ Students Want Their Professors to Know

Physical and Emotional Health Concerns of LGBTQ College Students

The Atlantic: Is College More Dangerous for LGBTQ Students?

College Guide: Resources for LGBTQ Students

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My College Roommate Became a Close Friend... Then I Started to Develop Feelings

Info: LGBTQ Affirming Colleges, Companies, Cities

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Chronicle of Higher Education: Interviewing While LGBTQ

The Hidden Life of a Christian College Professor

--Does your campus have an LGBTQ concerns office or an LGBTQ student resource center (an institutionally funded space specifically for LGBTQ education and support services)? If not, does your campus have another office or resource center that deals actively with LGBTQ issues and concerns (Women’s Center, Multicultural Center)?
--Does your senior administration actively demonstrate inclusive use of the words “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer” when discussing community, multicultural and, or diversity issues on campus?
--Does your campus sponsor regular, on-going campus-wide activities and events to increase awareness of LGBTQ issues/concerns on campus?
--Does your campus have regular, on-going social events specifically for LGBTQ students?
--Does your campus have a college/university-recognized LGBTQ campus student organization for all LGBTQ students and allies?
--Does your campus have any student organizations that primarily serve the social or recreational needs of LGBTQ students (Gay social fraternity, Lesbian Volleyball Recreational Club, Gay Coed Lacrosse Club)?

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Info: LGBTQ Affirming Colleges, Companies, Cities

Video: Issues LGBTQ Students Might Face

Campus Pride: 15 LGBTQ-Friendly College Campuses

Research Paper: LGBTQ Issues in Higher Education
 

--Does your campus have any student organizations that primarily serve the needs of under-represented or multicultural LGBTQ populations (LGBTQ Latinos/Latinas, International LGBTQ students, LGBTQ Students with Disabilities)?
--Does your campus have any student organizations that primarily serve the religious/spiritual needs of LGBTQ students (Unity Fellowship for Students, Gays for Christ, LGBTQ Muslims)?
--Does your campus have out LGBTQ faculty members?
--Does your campus have an LGBTQ studies major? If No, does your campus have LGBTQ-specific courses offered through various academic programs?
--Does your campus integrate LGBTQ issues into existing courses when appropriate?
--Does your campus include LGBTQ issues in new faculty/staff orientation programs and on-going training opportunities?

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Advice on Being Gay in College

List of LGBTQ and LGBTQ Friendly Fraternities and Sororities

This College Track & Field Star is Breaking Records as His Authentic Gay Self

Reasons Why Coming Out in College Is Actually the Best

Intelligent: LGBTQ College Student Guide

Trans College Student Resource Guide

Info: College Safe Zone Programs

Track Team Mates: Coming Out and Dating

The Complicated Past and Promising Future of Queer Studies

Top LGBT Friendly College Campuses

Support for LGBTQ Business Students

Campus Pride Index

--Does your campus have an extensive collection of LGBTQ-related holdings in the campus library?
--Does your campus provide LGBTQ-themed housing options or LGBTQ specific living-learning communities in campus housing?
--Does your campus allow for students with same-sex spouses/partners to reside together in campus housing?
--Does your campus provide housing options that are sensitive to the needs of transgender students?
--Does your campus provide training sessions for housing employees on LGBTQ issues and concerns?
--Does your campus provide training sessions for public safety officers on LGBTQ issues and concerns and anti-LGBTQ violence?
--Do your campus public safety officers carry out LGBTQ outreach efforts and meet with LGBT student leaders/organization?
--Does your campus have a clear procedure for reporting LGBTQ-related bias incidents and hate crimes?
--Does your campus have a bias-incident and hate-crime reporting system for LGBTQ concerns?
--Does your campus have support groups for LGBTQ individuals in the process of coming out and for other LGBTQ issues/concerns?
--Does your campus have individual student counseling that is sensitive to LGBTQ issues/concerns?

--Does your campus provide training for campus health care professionals to increase their sensitivity to the special health needs of LGBTQ individuals?
--Does your campus participate in an LGBTQ admission fair designed for outreach to incoming LGBTQ high school students?

--Does your campus have an LGBTQ graduation ceremony (Lavender Graduation) for LGBTQ graduating seniors?
--Does your campus have any scholarships specifically targeting LGBTQ students and heterosexual students who are supportive of LGBTQ equality?
--Does your campus include LGBTQ issues in new student orientation programs?
--Does your campus have an LGBTQ mentoring program to welcome and assist LGBTQ students in transitioning to academic life and other involvement on campus?

Here TV: College Guide for LGBTQ Students

Resource Guide for LGBTQ College Students

Religious Universities Living Up to LGBTQ Values of Inclusion

AGB Magazine: LGBTQ Challenges in Higher Education

Advice on Being Gay in College

LGBTQ Nation: The Worst College Campuses for LGBTQ Students

Info: College Safe Zone Programs

Things Queer Students Should Know Before Going to College

Video: Issues LGBTQ Students Might Face

LGBTQ Students More Likely to Leave Home for College in More Welcoming States

Students Succeed When Diversity is Valued

Campus Pride: Shame List of Absolute Worst Campuses for LGBTQ Students

Support for LGBTQ Business Students

Intelligent: LGBTQ College Student Guide

Advice for LGBTQ Teens

Teach for America: Supporting LGBTQ College Students

Standards for LGBTQ Programs and Services

Guidelines for Excellence in LGBTQ Support

The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) has established guidelines for the directors of various campus programs, including residence life, Greek organizations, counseling services, recruiting and admissions, diversity programs, health services, and more. Their collection of guidelines also addresses the professional standards for LGBTQ programs and services on college campuses.

According to CAS, it is no longer a matter of whether to provide services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) college students, but rather, it is a matter of when. The talent, energy, and hope with which LGBTQ students are entering college must be acknowledged and encouraged. Some students are declaring their bisexual or homosexual orientations in high school, then knocking on institutional doors with expectations of being fully appreciated for who they are in their entirety, including their sexual orientations. Many more students enter college questioning their sexual identities, not yet ready to make pronouncements nor embrace labels, but they deserve the institution’s demonstrated acceptance and attention.

Nearly 100 higher education institutions currently have full-time professionally staffed offices or centers that provide services for and about LGBTQ students, faculty, and staff. Some such services include information and referral, advocacy, support groups, discussion groups, LGBTQ student organization advising, safe zones, ally projects, leadership programs, peer counseling, and Lavender Graduation celebrations. Some campuses have LGBTQ offices staffed by part-time graduate students, and some campuses with no actual LGBTQ office or center employ a person who is responsible for providing services to LGBTQ students.
 

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LGBTQ Issues and College Life
Trans College Student Resource Guide

Info: College Safe Zone Programs

The National Consortium of Directors of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Resources in Higher Education was officially founded in San Diego in 1997 to provide support for the professionals in this growing new arena in student affairs. Beyond membership support, the Consortium seeks to assist colleges and universities in developing equity in every respect for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students, faculty, staff, administrators, and alumni. The Consortium also focuses on developing curricula to enhance its professional goals, to promote improved campus climates, and to advocate for policy change, program development, and the establishment of campus LGBTQ offices and centers.

Minimal data are currently available as to the number of LGBTQ students on college campuses. Several reasons exist to explain this fact. First, some surveys regarding sexual behavior rely on people to self-disclose same-sex interactions, thoughts, or feelings. It is unlikely that people will answer such questions honestly or at all if they do not explicitly trust the anonymity of the process. Second, some surveys rely on people to identity themselves through labels such as homosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer. While some LGBTQ people may use these labels, many others, especially LGBTQ people of color, may not. Either they have decided to not attach a label to their non-heterosexual identity.  Or they have not journeyed through the coming-out process sufficiently to yet identify with a label. Or they use different terminology, all of which are the experiences of LGBTQ college students. Finally, while some people may have strong feelings of same-sex attraction, it is likely that they remain in heterosexual relationships or become non-sexual and never act on their feelings of such same-sex attraction. Consequently, limited empirical data exist to identify numbers of LGBTQ students.

LGBTQ College Student Guide
LGBTQ College Student Support
LGBTQ College Youth Guide

Transgender College Student Guide

Trans College Student Resource Guide

No college or university has sexual orientation or gender identity boxes on admission forms, and retention studies related to LGBTQ students have not yet been conducted. Therefore, when administrators wish to ascertain the number of LGBTQ students on campuses, there are few, if any, databases available to provide such information. Consequently, they find themselves resorting to asking an openly gay student or staff member or simply projecting numbers from LGBTQ college chat rooms.
 

Like racism, sexism, and other ideologies of oppression, heterosexism (that only heterosexuality is normal) is manifested in social customs, institutions, and in attitudes and behaviors of individuals. Preserved through the routine operation of institutions, the maintenance of heterosexism is possible because it is in keeping with prevalent social norms. Higher education contributes to the maintenance of institutionalized heterosexism as evidenced by hate crimes directed toward LGBTQ students, faculty, and staff members. Given that heterosexism’s values underlie higher education, the work involved in proactively addressing violence against LGBTQ individuals and building communities that are inclusive and welcoming of LGBTQ persons is both controversial and demanding.

Researchers note that campuses are no longer safe havens for students, faculty, or staff. Violence is a community and societal problem that has found its way into institutions of higher education. Institutions must make concerted efforts to create campus climates where every student is safe and every faculty and staff member is secure in knowing that there will never be another incident such as the one involving Matthew Shepard at the University of Wyoming.

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Tips for Gay College Students

Top LGBTQ Friendly Colleges and Universities

LGBTQ College Statistics

Great Value Colleges: LGBTQ Friendly Campuses

LGBTQ Scholarships

College Guide: Scholarships for LGBTQ Students

List of LGBTQ and LGBTQ Friendly Fraternities and Sororities

CAS provides a framework for building and maintaining an effective LGBTQ campus program. It offers resources and assessment tools to help higher education administrators and directors of LGBTQ programs consider all the factors relevant to ensuring their LGBTQ program is successful. By using CAS's published guidelines, directors of LGBTQ programs can consider such aspects as the mission, purpose, program elements, learning outcomes, developmental goals, leadership, organization, training, financial issues, legal responsibilities, external relations, ethics, and assessment.

Among the important standards outlined by CAS regarding effective LGBTQ campus programs are the following statements:

The formal education of students consists of the curriculum and the co-curriculum, and must promote student learning and development that is purposeful and holistic. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Programs and Services must identify relevant and desirable student learning and development outcomes and provide programs and services that encourage the achievement of those outcomes.

Relevant and desirable outcomes include: intellectual growth, effective communication, realistic self-appraisal, enhanced self-esteem, clarified values, career choices, leadership development, healthy behaviors, meaningful interpersonal relationships, independence, collaboration, social responsibility, satisfying and productive lifestyles, appreciation of diversity, spiritual awareness, and achievement of personal and educational goals.

LGBTQ programs and services must: Advocate for the creation of a campus climate that is free from harassment and violence. Identify environmental conditions that negatively influence student welfare. Advocate for solutions to be enacted that neutralize such condition. Work to create policies and procedures within the institution that promote and maintain a hospitable climate.

LGBTQ programs and services must promote institutional understanding for the concerns of LGBTQ students, faculty, and staff. Educate other campus programs and services to be responsive to the unique concerns of LGBTQ students.

LGBTQ Student Experience Guide
LGBTQ State Specific Program Details
LGBTQ Scholarship Guide
LGBTQ Safety Resources

These programs and services must include:
 

Individual and group psychological counseling such as: coming out support, services for victims and perpetrators of homophobia, services to address family issues, services to address same sex dating issues, services to address same sex domestic violence, and support for victims and perpetrators of hate crimes.
 

Health services such as: health forms with inclusive language, LGBTQ health issues brochures, safer sex information for same sex couples.

Career services such as: resume development, information on LGBTQ friendly employers, employer mentoring programs for LGBTQ students, information on LGBTQ issues in the workplace, and academic advising such as the support of students’ educational choices

LGBTQ programs and services must provide educational opportunities that include: Examination of the intersection of sexual orientation with race, class, gender, disability, and age. Promotion of self awareness, self-esteem, and self-confidence. Promotion of leadership experiences. Identification of and networking with role models and mentors. Support of students and their families in achieving academic success.

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Commencement Address for All Queer College Graduates

Dear Class of 2020

Congratulations queer college graduates of 2020 on this very important and hard-won milestone. Since you are not able to partake in the usual pomp and circumstance, I wanted to share with you my commencement address.

For some of you these years at college were your extraordinary time of coming out, declaring yourself, standing and saying, “This is me,” against all odds. Some of you came to college already out, ready to spread your wings even farther. For those of you not yet out, who studied and toiled all these years from the closet, you too have achieved a herculean task.

As you enter adulthood, joining our vast, colorful, extraordinary, mischievous community, keep in mind we have no litmus test for entry. You can be out, you can be closeted, you can be prideful or self-loathing, you can declare your gender identity at 11 years old or stay in the closet till you’re middle-aged, all are welcome.

As you stand on the precipice of this next chapter of your lives, I understand how grim and hopeless it must feel. We are in unchartered times and we don’t know what comes next and if what we all thought was normal, will ever be the same. I am not an economist or futurist, so I don’t have any qualifications to speak on what may be in store for you. But I do have experience graduating college during a dark time for our community; during another plague.

I graduated NYU in 1987 at which time there were 50,378 cases of AIDS in the US and 40,849 deaths. That was the year the US government barred HIV-infected travelers from entering the country. While there are so many differences between AIDS and COVID-19, fear and despair are familiar to me.

John Mulvaney: Dear Class of 2020

Hope, Wish and Prayer for 2020: Protection for LGBTQ Americans

Alicia Keys: Dear Class of 2020

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Katy Perry: Dear Class of 2020

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Colin Jost: Dear Class of 2020

Penn State Univ: Message of Support for LGBTQ Pride 2020

Barack and Michelle Obama: Dear Class of 2020

So what does the future hold for you? None of us know. But that’s where your opportunity is. All our lives, queer people have had to create ourselves, create our lives, create our families, our communities, our own safe spaces. This period, where the world can be rebuilt anew, created again, was made for us queers. This is what we do. We aren’t wedded to what was, because what was had never been intended for us. Now, you get to make a more just, more equitable world. You get to widen the margins so as to erase them. Creativity is the lifeblood of our lives and you can bring it to bear on the systemic problems that have been laid bare by this virus and deploy our greatest asset, empathy. Our world needs to heal and who better to lead that healing than us?

We queer people live and see things not as they are but as we make them. The gift of our queerness is that your otherness helps you to see things differently. You can redefine what it means to be essential in America. But first you must make your queerness essential to your lives. Do not diminish yourselves. Do not diminish your queerness. The way to deal with your otherness is not to soften the edges, not to find the ways to fit in or to pass. It is to double down, to exploit and to expose all those parts of you that are other. Those elements of your otherness are your deep well of creativity and divinity. Your answers reside in your singularity and difference. By amplifying your otherness, you unlock your promise and potential.

Barack Obama: Dear Class of 2020

Commencement Address for All Queer College Graduates

Michelle Obama: Dear Class of 2020

Virtual Lavender Graduation Ceremony

Schitt's Creek Cast and Mariah Carey: Dear Class of 2020

Lady Gaga: Dear Class of 2020

When Leaving Campus Means Going Back Into the Closet

Beyonce Knowles: Dear Class of 2020

Happy New Year: Anxiety and Hope for LGBTQ Americans in the 2020s

Robert Gates: Dear Class of 2020

Your otherness breeds empathy, emboldens ideas, and expands boundaries. Build up your resolve to expose your specialness. The way to stoke it is to revel not only in your own otherness, but in the big, wide, diverse community of otherness of which you are now a part. I would ask you to look at your work lives and see where you can be of service — public service, medicine, science. And especially the arts. Artists, writers, poets will explain all this to us. And who among you will be the activists, the agitators? We need you now.

Part of your responsibility is to work to improve the lives of everyone in our community. Our initialism, LGBTQ, is not just stripes on our flag so everyone feels represented. It is our bond. We rise and fall, survive and thrive together. Oppression cannot be a gateway to victimhood, and mere tolerance is not adequate. Do not diminish who you are to find some acceptability. Do not connect your self-esteem with acceptance. You cannot make your queer life small so as not to cause a wave. Do not let hate seep into your profile; do not bow out or retreat because the obstacles seem so great.

As you set out to not just rebuild but rejuvenate and improve our world, be sure to build your own personal foundation as well. Be ambitious in your personal life. Prioritize your heart, especially now, during this pandemic and its uncertain aftermath. Loving someone and being loved are life-saving. So go forth class of 2020 and trust in your queerness. It will provide.

[Source: Richie Jackson, Theatre, Television and Film Producer, May 2020]

Schitt's Creek and Mariah Carey: To the Class of 2020

Barack Obama: Dear Class of 2020

Commencement Address for All Queer College Graduates

Michelle Obama: Dear Class of 2020

Virtual Lavender Graduation Ceremony

Schitt's Creek Cast and Mariah Carey: Dear Class of 2020

Lady Gaga: Dear Class of 2020

Beyonce Knowles: Dear Class of 2020

Happy New Year: Anxiety and Hope for LGBTQ Americans in the 2020s

Robert Gates: Dear Class of 2020

Lavender Graduation

Celebration for LGBTQ Grads

Lavender Graduation is an annual ceremony conducted on numerous college campuses to honor lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students and to acknowledge their achievements and contributions to the University.

The Lavender Graduation Ceremony was created by Dr. Ronni Sanlo, a Jewish lesbian, who was denied the opportunity to attend the graduations of her biological children because of her sexual orientation. It was through this experience that she came to understand the pain felt by her students. Encouraged by the Dean of Students at the University of Michigan, Dr. Sanlo designed the first Lavender Graduation Ceremony in 1995.

The first Lavender Graduation honored three graduates. By 2001, there were over 45 Lavender Graduation Ceremonies at colleges and universities nationwide. Graduating students, including undergraduates and graduates, are invited to take part in the celebration, which occurs each year the week prior to university-wide commencement events.

HRC: What is Lavender Graduation?
Lavender Graduation Notes and History
Campus Pride: Lavender Graduation
Info/Samples: Lavender Graduation Program

For decades students at colleges and universities around the country have been celebrating both their academic achievements and their cultural heritages at specialized commencement events. Many of these events are student-initiated and usually occur during the university-wide commencement weekend. These events provide a sense of community for minority students who often experience tremendous culture shock at their impersonalized institutions. For many students they are the payoff for staying in school, and friends and families find the smaller, more ethnic ceremonies both meaningful and personal.

Lavender Graduation is a cultural celebration that recognizes LGBTQ students of all races and ethnicities and acknowledges their achievements and contributions to the university as students who survived the college experience. Through such recognition LGBTQ students may leave the university with a positive last experience of the institution thereby encouraging them to become involved mentors for current students as well as active alumni.

Lavender Graduation is an event to which LGBTQ students look forward, where they not only share their hopes and dreams with one another, but where they are officially recognized by the institution for their leadership and their successes and achievements.

Like other commencement ceremonies, lavender graduation ceremonies typically include a guest speaker; presentation of certificates; presentation of awards; special stoles, cords, and tassels; refreshments afterwards; and, of course, a reading of graduates' names. Attendance is open to family, friends, students, faculty, staff, allies, and all members of the campus LGBTQ community. It is usually held before formal commencement.

The ceremony takes its name (and sometimes the color of tassels, caps, cords, stoles, or other items) from the significance of the color lavender in the LGBTQ community. Some campuses use rainbow tassels, cords, caps, or stoles.

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Lesbian Until Graduation

Temporary period of sexual exploration

The LGBTQ slang terms lesbian until graduation (LUG), gay until graduation (GUG), and bisexual until graduation (BUG) are used to describe women primarily of high school or college age who are assumed to be experimenting with or adopting a temporary lesbian or bisexual identity during their college years. The term suggests that the woman to whom it is applied will ultimately adopt a strictly heterosexual identity after she leaves campus.

In a 1999 article in the Seattle Weekly, A. Davis related her experimentation with same-sex relationships, and how as a result, she experienced hostility from lesbian friends who pressured her to identify as a bisexual, including one friend who urged her to do so as a political statement, despite the fact that Davis identifies as a heterosexual who merely experimented with women for a brief period. Davis claimed that women who experienced same-sex relationships are more attuned to LGBTQ issues, and more likely to oppose discrimination.

The “lesbian until graduation” is the cultural archetype of a usually white, privileged, overeducated girl who “experiments” with same-sex relationships in college either as part of a rebellion against her parents/hometown/former life as a high schooler with a curfew or as the result of a newfound feminist political consciousness that can only truly be manifested by touching another girl’s vagina.

Its pervasion of mainstream consciousness can perhaps be traced back to the 2003 New York Magazine article “Bi For Now," which uses the term “hasbian” to refer to LUGs in their latter years.

Lesbian Until Graduation

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LGBTQ College Programs and Services

LGBTQ Scholarships

Point Foundation
Pride Foundation
Human Rights Campaign LGBTQ Scholarship Database
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Campus Pride LGBTQ Scholarship Database
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Student Debt Relief
 

LGBTQ Fraternities and Sororities

Delta Lambda Phi Fraternity

Alpha Pi Delta Sorority

Sigma Phi Beta Fraternity

Kappa Alpha Lambda Sorority

Alpha Lambda Zeta Fraternity

Gamma Rho Lambda Sorority

Zeta Delta Xi Co-Educational Fraternity

List of LGBTQ and LGBTQ Friendly Fraternities and Sororities

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