Behind the Times
This morning at work I picked up The Princeton Review’s The Gay and Lesbian Guide to College Life. [One of the main risks of working at a library and loving to read is that there are distractions EVERYWHERE. Conclusion: only people who hate to read should be librarians.] The foreword (written by Debbie Bazarsky) says:
LGBTQ [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning] student life has burgeoned with an increase in programming, support services, and visibility on college campuses nationwide.
. . . So, who are today’s college students? . . . [T]hey have gay/straight alliances in their high schools and friends, as well as family members, who are out. . . . With allies showing greater support and involvement and a larger number of out LGBTQ students, life on campus is increasingly open and integrated.
Support services for LGBTQ students have also dramatically changed. . . . LGBTQ offices provide a home and community for students on campus. These centers offer programming, advising, support, and advocacy and give students the space to explore their identities, gain leadership experience, and have a better overall college experience.
In addition, most colleges and universities have at least one, and sometimes many, LGBTQ student organizations. . . . Also, many schools offer regular programming for LGBTQ students through student life and academic departments.
Current or recent students of Brigham Young University will not recognize this gay-friendly picture of college life, nor will students or alumni of many other conservative, religious and/or military schools in the country. And BYU is proud of how sickeningly behind it is! It is a sad, sad state of affairs when gays students are ecstatic that they can no longer be kicked out for simply being gay—where’s the GLBT Resource Center? the Pride week celebration and parade float? the suicide hotline? Things could be so much better, people. Don’t settle.
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March 28th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Thank you! I couldn’t agree more. I wish all students could attend a college that had this level of support. There are too many closeted students at BYU who are struggling with their identity and have nowhere to get the support and acceptance they need. Thank you for your remarks!
March 28th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Even worse than lack of support, in my opinion, is the fact that LGBT BYU students DO receive “support,” just of the wrong kind. They have bishops who teach them that their very nature is evil, counseling sessions that convince them they can become “normal,” the Honor Code to threaten them with expulsion if they break the heterosexual norm and the crazed dating atmosphere to provide them with a constant, insupportable pressure to find their Eternal Partner and get married. BYU as a whole needs to absorb the idea that LGBT students are real, and that their needs are just as valid and present as the needs of the majority heterosexual population.
I personally think BYU is a toxic environment for straight people, too. Academic and intellectual freedom is limited, and those who don’t conform—in whatever way—are pummeled until they either give in and pretend or give up and leave.