Best 'queer' campuses judged nationwide
Published Sept. 22, 2006
MU can't be found in the top 100 schools nationwide in a new book that aims to make choosing a university easier for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual students.
The Advocate, the national gay and lesbian publication, published its guide last month of the 100 best "queer" campuses in the United States.
The guide doesn't rank the top 100 schools. Instead, each university is evaluated and assigned a "Gay Point Average" that falls between one and 20.
UM-Kansas City was the only school in the UM system featured in the guide.
Of the other universities in the Big 12 Conference, four are listed in the book: the University of Colorado, the University of Kansas, the University of Texas and Iowa State University. Colorado scored a 17, Iowa State a 15, Kansas a 13 and Texas a 10.
"We are really proud, but it doesn't show that we are thinking of the student body and every student," said David Greene, Student Services and LGBT program coordinator at UMKC.
John Faughn, coordinator of the MU LGBT resource center, agreed the guide was not the only indicator of an LGBT-friendly university.
"I would say at MU, as with many Midwest schools, students already out find friends, social groups and networking fairly easily," Faughn said. "Students who come here and go through the coming-out process may find it difficult, which is the same as any other research-based institution."
Faughn said MU lost points for not offering insurance benefits for same-sex partners, but he said there are programs and policies that benefit LGBT students.
"I think the guide is a good resource, but I don't think it should be anyone's sole resource ... It's definitely worth taking a look at," Faughn said. "Just because we're not in the book doesn't mean we're not a good environment."
The guide has sections with information regarding women's colleges, same-sex domestic benefits, gender identity and expression in nondiscrimination policy.
Included colleges are also organized according to religious affiliation, region, state, type of institution, size and in-state and out-of-state tuitions.
The book also has sections designed to aid in the coming-out process.
To be considered for the book, each school had to have at least five LGBT students.
The Advocate called for nominations from these students themselves, advertising in LGBT, local, college, national and online news sources.
Six hundred and eighty colleges received at least one nomination, but the process didn't stop there.
The Advocate conducted 4,650 online interviews of LGBT students and 560 online interviews of faculty nationwide.
Each school was evaluated based on active organizations, popular places for LGBT students, out staff, the LGBT center, visible signs of pride, out allies from the top-down of the university (such as deans, professors, etc.), areas that were LGBT inclusive, "queer studies" offered as majors and minors, liberal attitude and a vibrant social scene.
Only universities with a Gay Point Average of 10 or above made the list.