Campus Pride is excited to partner with the It Gets Better Project in promoting gay columnist and project founder Dan Savage's It Gets Better college tour across the U.S.

One of the most important things Campus Pride has learned in our more than 10 years of work with LGBTQ and ally college and university students is that life for queer youth doesn't just get better once they leave high school and go to college. Young people across the U.S. are taking the It Gets Better message to heart and are taking a stand on their campuses each and every day to create a better world for themselves, their peers, their communities and for future generations. Many high school students just beginning their higher education are choosing to attend colleges and universities that actively include and support LGBT students, by utilizing resources like Campus Pride's Campus Climate Index.

We're proud that Dan will be embarking on his college tour and reaching out to LGBTQ and ally young people in higher education, as well as other venues. Many of the issues faced by LGBT students in high school are also faced by those in college, whether it's continued social or religious pressure from parents or harassment and discrimination from fellow students or college officials. And, contrary to popular belief, not all colleges are LGBT-friendly. For example, did you know (from our 2010 State of Higher Education for LGBT People):

• Less than seven percent of accredited U.S. colleges and universities offer institutional support to LGBTQ and ally students, such as safe space/ally programming, LGBTQ faculty advisors or staff and LGBTQ student centers or facilities?
• Only 13 percent of colleges and universities include sexual identity policy protections?
• Just six percent of colleges and universities include gender identity and expression protections?

The inspiration Dan Savage brings to college and university campuses he will visit -- including those he's already visited, such as the College of William and Mary and the University of North Texas -- will uplift students who are still in the closet, empower those who are seeking positive change and help to shape more inclusive campus environments -- proving, indeed, that it does get better!

It Gets Better Tour Dates

2/16/12 Canisius College - Buffalo, NY
2/29/12 Clairemont McKenna College - Clairemont, CA
3/2/12 National Assn. of Independent Schools - Seattle, WA
3/6/12 University of Kentucky - Lexington, KY
3/7/12 Butler University - Indianapolis, IN
3/10/12 American Civil Liberties Union - Portland, OR
3/19/12 University of Pennsylvania - Philadelphia, PA
3/20/12 American University - Washington D.C.
3/21/12 Lynn University - Boca Raton, FL
3/22/12 University of Western Ontario - Ontario, CANADA
4/13/12 National HS Journalism Convention - Seattle, WA
4/17/12 Bryant University - Smithfield, RI
4/18/12 Bowling Green University - Bowling Green, OH
4/19/12 Univ. of Vermont - Burlington, VT
4/20/12 Washington Library Association - Edmonds, WA
4/29/12 Elmhurst College - Elmhurst, IL
4/30/12 University of the Ozarks - Clarksville, AK
6/23/12 American School Counselor Assn. Annual Meeting / Minneapolis, MN
7/12/12 University Church of Christ - Cleveland, OH
11/3/12 U.C. Berkeley - Berkeley, CA

In addition to Savage's It Gets Better Tour, MTV and Logo have partnered to present the It Gets Better TV special featuring three young people and their stories. The special will air on both TV networks next Tuesday, Feb. 21, 11 p.m. Eastern. See the trailer below...

Illinois college first U.S. institution of higher education to ask students specifically about sexual orientation and gender identity on college admissions form

(Charlotte, NC) – Campus Pride, a national non-profit working to create safer, more LGBT-inclusive colleges and build future LGBT and ally leaders, is praising the decision by administrators at Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Ill., to specifically include a question about students’ sexual orientation and gender identity in their college admissions application.

Elmhurst College, a private four-year liberal arts college, is the first U.S. institution of higher education to ask a demographic question about identity on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity on a college admission form. Their decision reflects a conscious choice by administrators at the college to actively include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students in the broader life of the college and its campus.

“The move by Elmhurst administrators to include this question represents a distinct and unique paradigm shift in higher education to actively recognize out LGBT youth populations and to exercise greater responsibility for LGBT student safety,” said Shane Windmeyer, Campus Pride executive director. “For the first time, an American college has taken efforts to identify their LGBT students from the very first moment those students have official contact with them. This is definite progress in the right direction -- and deserves praise.”

From Coast to Coast: Chicago, Charlotte, Boston, Los Angeles & New York set as 2011 Campus Pride College Fair Locations

Do you want to recruit out LGBT and ally students? Thanks to Campus Pride now your college can do just that. Campus Pride announces dates for it’s fifth annual national college fair program this Fall 2011 specifically designed for out lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students to find LGBT-friendly colleges and universities. More information online at http://www.campusclimateindex.org/events

REGISTER NOW

20011Campus Pride
LGBT-Friendly College Fair Program Dates & Locations

SOUTHEAST REGION - Charlotte, NC
CAMPUS PRIDE COLLEGE FAIR & PREP DAY
FOR LGBT & ALLY STUDENTS & FAMILIES
in collaboration with the Pride Charlotte Festival,
Time Out Youth & The Charlotte Lesbian & Gay Community Center
Date: Saturday, August 27, 2011
Hours of Operation: 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Location: Pride Charlotte Festival, Uptown on S. Tryon Street, between 3rd and Stonewall Streets
 
MIDWEST REGION - Chicago, IL
CAMPUS PRIDE COLLEGE FAIR & PREP DAY
FOR LGBT & ALLY STUDENTS & FAMILIES
in partnership with the Center on Halstead -- Chicago's LGBT Center
Date: Saturday, September 24, 2011
Hours of Operation: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Location: Center on Halstead, 3956 N. Halstead, Chicago, IL 60613
 
NORTHEAST REGION - Boston, MA
CAMPUS PRIDE COLLEGE FAIR & PREP DAY
FOR LGBT & ALLY STUDENTS & FAMILIES
in partnership with Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Youth (BAGLY) and Friends of GLBT Youth, Inc.
Date: Saturday, October 7, 2011
Hours of Operation: 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Location: TBD
 

In September, Campus Pride Blog chronicled the efforts of LGBTQI and straight ally student leaders at the University of Rhode Island in their quest to ensure safer and more welcoming learning, living and working environments on campus.

In response to several anti-LGBTQI incidents on campus and lackisdaisical response by university administrators, several students began a 24-hour sit-in in the student union. The protest lasted for two weeks, until students received many of the requests they'd made of URI administration.

Last week, URI administrators made good on another student request; URI has hired its first-ever associate vice chancellor for community, equity and diversity.

According to The Providence Journal, Kelly Friedman, the former executive director of diversity and equity at the University of Vermont, began work in the associate vice president position last week.

Friedman will report directly to URI President David Dooley and will supervise the Women’s Center; Multicultural Center; Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Transgender Center; the Bias Incident Response Team; and the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity.

Read up on the history of URI's LGBTQI student protest...

Campus Pride has been following student protesting and organizing on the issue of LGBT campus safety at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, R.I.

The protest led this week to university administrators meeting one of the many demands made by students.

Today, the student newspaper, The Good 5 Cent Cigar, issued a wonderful staff editorial, writing in part:

There is no reason that any student should need escorted protection on campus. There is no reason why anyone should have obscenities yelled at him while walking to class. There is no reason that any student should be made to feel that any aspect of their background, lifestyle or being is wrong.
Whether one agrees with the monetary goals of the GLBT protest is irrelevant, because their rightful cause for complaint goes beyond asking for a new building or an increase in staff. These students are asking for a basic level of respect and consideration that is being denied to them every day on this campus.
As a student body, we need to take a closer look at our own attitudes toward one another. That a group of students feels so disrespected that they find it necessary to make a very public protest in order to have their voice heard shows a disturbing lack of openness and consideration among the student body. That some have responded to the GLBT group's complaints with hateful rhetoric and vandalism further goes to show that students aren't listening.

Read the rest of the editorial board's sentiments, and check out Campus Pride's past coverage of the URI student protests.

On Monday, student protesters at the University of Rhode Island sent this update:

September 27, 2010 – The University administration has agreed to reinstate the two faculty members that had been unjustly reorganized out of their previous meeting positions. Despite this victory, the President still refuses to make room for the students to meet with him and address the other issues. The next workable meeting is not until Thursday morning. The students are still going to stay in the 24-hour room until all of their demands are completely met, regardless of when the administration will find the time to deal with the issues of campus climate and safety.

See Campus Pride's past coverage of the LGBT student protest at URI...

Another update from the University of Rhode Island in Campus Pride's continuing coverage of the student initiative is below. You can read past protest updates here: /category/tags/university-rhode-island

Protest Leader Verbally Assaulted
September 24, 2010 – University of Rhode Island – Today the student leader of the LGBT Protest on campus was verbally assaulted on his way to class. When Brian Stack heard a student behind him yell that someone's backpack was "faggy" he shouted back that the student should not use that language. The offending student then yelled “fuck you faggot” at Stack. When Stack asked the student to identify himself he did not, and no one in the area was willing to identify the harassing student.. Attacks like this have been recurring since the protest began and are examples of the daily experience for LGBT students at URI.

Campus Pride has been following a student protest on LGBT campus safety at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, R.I. (Photo right: URI junior Brian Stack, president of the campus' Gay-Straight Alliance, is helping to organize the protest. Source: Providence Journal.)

Statement from LGBT student organizers, Sept. 23, 8 p.m.:
The University of Rhode Island administration has refused to take a stance on any of the demands. In response to the University's lack of commitment to solving these issues, the GLBT students and their allies continue the protest. The students feel that if President Dooley had a strong commitment to solving these issues he would have flown back from California as other presidents have done during previous protests. The students remain resilient in their determination to address the issues of campus safety and climate.

Statement from URI administration
The Providence Journal reported on Sept. 24, 2010 that university administration had "responded" to the LGBT student protest. That response was contained in a two-page statement dated Sept. 24 with comments from President David Dooley and Donald DeHayes, provost and vice president of academic affairs. Download and read the statement (PDF) here.

See Campus Pride's statement in support of the students, and other Campus Pride coverage of the protest.

News round-up

Students protest to stop hate against LGBTIQQ students
by Noelle Myers, Sept. 24, 2010, The Good 5 Cent Cigar, University of Rhode Island
University of Rhode Island students filled the library's 24-hour room as of midnight Wednesday night to protest against harassment and discrimination toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students. Read the rest...

Protest held at URI over harassment of gay students
By Donita Naylor, Sept. 24, 2010, The Providence Journal
University of Rhode Island officials have responded to a student sit-in at the library by acknowledging that gay and lesbian students have endured discrimination. Read the rest...

GBLT students stage sit-in at URI library
NBC 10 WJAR, Providence New Bedford

Read more from NBC 10

Yesterday and this morning, Campus Pride Blog has been covering the LGBT student protest at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, R.I. Campus Pride has also given our statement of support.

Student organizer Brian Stack sends us the following breaking news:
At 12:01am Thursday September 23, 2010 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students began a peaceful sit-in at the University of Rhode Island Library¹s 24-hour room. Despite support from the students, the URI Administration has encouraged the URI press to not cover the protest. The students at the protest remain firm in their belief that the University Administration needs to address the issues of harassment and discrimination that have led to the unsafe environment on campus.

For more information about the protest please contact Brian Stack, 413-949-6227, [email protected].

UPDATE (Sept. 23, 1:45 p.m.): EDGE reporter Michael K. Lavers filed a story this afternoon, and spoke to a University of Rhode Island spokesperson regarding the alleged media block.

According to EDGE:

URI spokesperson Linda Acciardo told EDGE neither she or anyone else in her office was aware the sit-in was going to take place when they spoke to a local television station late on Wednesday, Sept. 22. She denied university administrators discouraged coverage of the protest.

"This is a public university, a public campus and [this is] a dialogue we expect to be in the public domain," said Acciardo.

Read the rest of that story here...

Campus Pride Founder and Executive Director Shane Windmeyer appeared on the Keith Larson Show (WBT 1110 AM, Charlotte, NC, www.wbt.com/larson/index.aspx) on Thursday, Aug. 5, to discuss recent updates to the LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index. Recently, Campus Pride announced 19 schools had achieved a five-star rating in the Index, the highest number of schools achieving the top rating since its inception in 2007-08.

Windmeyer discusses with Larson, a conservative-Libertarian radio host, the top-rated campuses and a bit about our upcoming LGBT-Friendly National College Fair stop in Charlotte on Oct. 2.

Listen to the interview (click to play in browser, if supported, or right click and "Save link/target as..." to download).

You can subscribe to Larson podcasts or listen live when his show airs weekday mornings 9 a.m. to noon. Visit www.wbt.com/larson/index.aspx for more information.