How to Choose a College
Going to College
Official Rules and Policies
One of the first things to look at is the school’s non-discrimination policy, which can be found in the college or university brochure, website, or printed on other materials that the school has sent you. If you can’t find this policy or statement on any of the materials from a certain college, you might e-mail or call the college to ask if they have one. Here is a sample non-discrimination policy from American University:
"American University provides equal opportunity for all qualified persons in its educational programs and activities. It also seeks to be a community in which freedom of expression and vigorous debate are valued and provided to all its members free of all forms of discrimination or harassment, including but not limited to exploitation, coercion, and intimidation. To achieve these goals, the university has adopted a policy prohibiting discrimination and discriminatory harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, disability, and any other bases under federal or local laws." (2000 - 2001 American University Student Handbook)
When looking over these policies, take note of the protected classes. U.S. Law mandates race, color, religion, and national origin and the inclusion of these classes is simply showing that the college or university is abiding by the law. You should look for sexual orientation to be included in these policies. If this is not included, this could be an indicator that the school isn’t as ‘gay friendly’ as other schools. The fact that sexual orientation is not included would mean that if you were a victim of anti-gay discrimination, you would have no recourse with the college. If it is included, this is a sign that you at least have some minimal recourse should you be the victim of harassment or discrimination. If the policy is clearly stated on all printed materials, this can be an indicator that the school views its non-discrimination policy as more than just a required paragraph. If the policy is in place, but it takes you a week to find it, then this could conversely be a sign that the school doesn’t highly value its non-discrimination policy. If you fail to find the policy on printed materials, or through the Internet, then ask the student coordinator of the GLBT group on campus, or the director of the GLBT resource office where the policy is printed. If the school has a non-discrimination policy, but does not appear to have any GLBT student groups, resource centers, or the like, then you’ll have to look at other aspects of the school to determine the GLBT climate of the school before you visit (or attend). This is something that you should determine for yourself, and this policy should not be used as a litmus test of sorts when applying to colleges; it’s just another thing to look at.
Another policy to look for in a college or university is whether it provides domestic partner benefits for faculty, staff, and other full-time employees of the college or university. These are benefits that are similar to the medical, financial, and insurance benefits a legally married heterosexual spouse of an employee would be entitled to. If a school does not have sexual orientation in the non-discrimination policy, then chances are the school doesn’t have domestic partner benefits for its faculty, staff, and other employees. Since a school can be very GLBT friendly, and still not have domestic benefits, this is a less accurate indicator of whether a college is friendly to GLBT students or not. At some schools, these benefits have implications regarding married student housing, and also in terms of medical coverage for a student’s partner, should the student opt to use the school’s medical program. If a school has these benefits, it will be reflected in the diversity of faculty at the school. GLBT faculties are more likely to have a positive work environment with these policies in place, and having a content faculty and staff translates into a better experience for students. To find out whether a school has domestic partner benefits, you can ask almost any faculty member (since they are the ones who would benefit from such a policy) or you can ask the head of the GLBT student group or GLBT resource center at the school.
One last GLBT positive policy a school may have could be found in the school’s anti-harassment material. Most of the time, colleges and universities have a policy that prohibits harassment because of race, ethnicity, national origin, and the like. If this policy includes sexual orientation, it could be another indicator that the school cares about its GLBT students.
There are still a very few schools that have certain policies that either prohibit ‘homosexual conduct' or some schools that have taken action to prevent a GLBT group from forming. These schools are a dying breed of social institutions, as more and more people realize that it’s in everyone’s best interests to be open and welcoming towards GLBT students. In the rare event that you encounter a school with a discriminatory policy, this should be cause for alarm. If the school you are looking at has a policy of discrimination against gays (they may very well phrase it differently), unless there is something else that only that school can offer, look elsewhere for your college education.
