LGBTQ College Culture Guide

It really depends on where the college is located and whether there are religious affiliations. Some schools focus on supporting a specific religion’s beliefs, which can result in a lack of acceptance for the LGBTQ community.

Schools can make improvements by offering anonymous surveys for students, staff, and faculty. These surveys allow the school to learn the feelings and experiences of minority populations on campus. It’s especially important to include survey questions that allow for the acknowledgement of race, disabilities, and other aspects of intersectionality that affect LGBTQ students.

Schools can also use research and speak with experts to draft ideas for improvements. In some cases, students may offer to be in a focus group to share ideas.

Safety is always a huge concern — both overall safety and how the community and local organizations react to and interact with the LGBTQ community. Many students also seek out information about Pride events to gauge how open they can be if they attend that school. Others ask about events that don’t occur in June (typically considered “Pride Month”) because they want to know if a campus is a safe place for them all year.

You are valued, you are worthy, and you matter. I know this often sounds trite or cliche, but too often, young adults go into a brand new collegiate world alone, and they may feel lonely if they don’t make friends immediately. Knowing how to seek out help for mental healthcare is a crucial part of adulthood and one best learned early. It’s also good to know that, in the first year or even first two years, most college credits transfer, so if your first school was not the right fit, it’s okay to consider finding a better fit.

Great community resources include the national and local chapters of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. This organization hosts branches throughout the nation. Making connections here can lead to a sense of belonging. The Trevor Project also offers dedicated 24/7 support to LGBTQ students. Additionally, the National Suicide Prevention Helpline offers support to anyone in need 24/7.

Over the years, there have been efforts on college campuses to create more inclusive and affirming spaces for LGBTQ students. For example, some trends I’ve observed are the incorporation of LGBTQ studies (majors and minors), gender-inclusive restrooms, name change policies, training for the campus community, and LGBTQ-themed housing options.

Some areas for improvement are the interpersonal, institutional, and systemic. Interpersonally, LGBTQ students still deal with their name and pronouns not being respected and microaggressions about their gender identity and/or sexual orientation. While some colleges have name change policies, gender-inclusive restrooms, and LGBTQ-themed housing, others don’t, rendering it an institutional issue. Systemically, laws surrounding issues such as discrimination, hate crimes, gay panic defense, and gay conversion therapy aren’t nationally addressed to protect the lives of LGBTQ community members.

LGBTQ students thrive on campus with understanding, support, resources, and engagement. It’s critical to understand LGBTQ students’ issues, interests, and needs in order to better support them. Part of that support is providing resources that address those different needs and issues. Another part of that support is interpersonal, such as friendship and community membership through student organizations, student leader positions, and Greek organizations.

Some services available at Montclair State University include an LGBTQ center, gender-inclusive restrooms, an LGBTQ and allied housing community, trans-inclusive student health insurance, trainings and workshops to educate the campus about the community, mental health resources, and a preferred name policy. Other institutions may have similar services, as well as LGBTQ-specific scholarships, counseling, and other resources.

I think the most important thing LGBTQ students should know is their prospective school’s report card on LGBTQ-friendliness. It can give them an idea of what LGBTQ-specific resources and services are available. It can also provide a glimpse into what one can expect to experience during their time at that institution.

As an LBGTQ college student, my experience has been really good. I’m very lucky that I ended up at Brooklyn College, and specifically in the women and gender studies department, which is a loving and amazing community. I hear about the horror stories from some of my friends at different colleges; I turned out very lucky.

The biggest challenge I face as an LGBTQ student is the lack of women and gender studies classes. It feels like each semester there are fewer and fewer classes available in the women and gender studies department. I think as a person in the LGBTQ community, it’s important that we have the opportunity to learn about our culture.

Brooklyn College is very supportive of the LGBTQ community, and I appreciate it. There are often LGBTQ gatherings throughout the semester, and we have an LGBTQ space now.

I wish my school was more public about what they offer for LGBTQ students on their website. For all the accommodations they have at my school, I found out about them through word of mouth. That’s something that I feel would have been useful to know when I was applying to colleges.

The advice I would give to other LGBTQ students is to make sure that you find an LGBTQ space, club, or group at your school. Having that kind of a support system helps you feel like yourself and more comfortable throughout your college experience.