How to Choose a College
Going to College
Official Rules and Policies
GLBT Organizations, Offices, and Resource Centers
Beyond things that are written in books or domestic partner benefits to faculty and staff, some colleges and universities have some sort of recognized organization, office or resource center that is dedicated to GLBT students, or has a broader ‘diversity’ office or center which has a staff member who works either part-time or full-time on GLBT issues on campus. American University has the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Ally Resource Center (GLBTA Resource Center), which is an office funded by the school and is located in the centrally located student center on campus. Often separate from this is a student created and/or student run organization composed of GLBT students and straight students that support them. These student organizations may plan and execute events on campus, hold support group meetings for GLBT students, have socials and parties, and/or may serve as groups that foster political activism. You can find these groups by looking through the directory of student organizations. The student run organization that serves the undergraduate population of American University is called AU Queers and Allies. If you find the contact information for the school funded staff member or the resource center, they can help you find out information about the student-run association, and visa versa.
As one might imagine, the larger the school, the larger the student organization will be, and the more funding will be available for GLBT student resources (hopefully). Small GLBT friendly schools often have a simple student run organization and maybe a single staff member who dedicates some of his or her time to issues surrounding GLBT youth. Larger GLBT friendly universities, sometimes with tens of thousands of students, often have several student-run organizations that are centered on GLBT life, and the larger schools may have more elaborate GLBT resource centers, with paid staff and student volunteers, and sometimes even a small community center dedicated to GLBT students. You should also inquire whether the school financially supports the student. A school should support its student run organization the same way it supports any other organization on campus. When considering how GLBT friendly a school is, you should consider how much it offers to its GLBT students relative to the overall size of the school. You should expect a larger school to have a healthy GLBT student group that receives the support of the school administratively and financially. You shouldn’t expect a very small GLBT friendly college to have a community center designated solely for GLBT students, but you should expect a school to have a student-run GLBT organization on campus. If a school doesn’t have any organization at all, this might be an indicator that the school isn’t friendly to GLBT students.
Another possible indicator of whether a school is GLBT friendly or not is whether the school has a designated committee or group of faculty/staff that serve on a board or school commission about sexual orientation. There are several ways to find out if a school has such a commission. First, you could ask one of the staff in the school’s admission office, as they generally know who is who on campus. You could also inquire about such a commission by asking the head of the GLBT student group or GLBT resource center on campus. You could ask a student at the school who is GLBT or gay friendly, or lastly, you could ask for a list of all faculty and staff groups and look over it and see if you find anything with sexual orientation, gay, etc. in the title of that group or commission. Many GLBT friendly schools no longer have these commissions, as these commissions have sometimes evolved into a GLBT resource center, or a student-led group, so the absence of a faculty/staff GLBT commission by itself doesn’t mean much. If a school doesn’t have a student-led group, a resource center, or any sort of commission, you can look to other factors to find out if the school is cool with GLBT students.
