August 30, 2011
Oregon State Receives Top Ranking as Gay-Friendly Campus
Robert Doyle READ TIME: 2 MIN.
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State University has been given top marks as one of the best campuses in the country for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students.
OSU is among 33 American colleges and universities to receive the highest ranking from the Campus Pride LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index, which lists reports on nearly 300 campuses. The index uses detailed, voluntary questionnaires from participating universities, and ranks them on everything from LGBT support and institutional commitment to campus safety and academic life.
This year, OSU received five out of five stars from the index. It received the same rating in 2010.
OSU was joined by two other Oregon universities in receiving top marks, Southern Oregon University and University of Oregon also received five stars.
Some of the ways in which OSU supports the LGBTQQIA community include:
� The Pride Center, established in 2001, like other campus cultural and resource centers, has a covenant with the university that protects its status from ever being revoked.
� Each June LGBT students can participate in Lavender Graduation, a special ceremony held before commencement. Each participating student gets to invite a special guest speaker, whether a faculty member, family member or friend, to speak during the event.
� Student organizations working to support and improve campus climate for lesbian, gay bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, and allied (LGBTQQIA), SOL (person of color), and Rainbow Continuum.
� The office of LGBT Outreach and Services provides support to the campus community.
� A campus-wide Pride celebration takes place each year and includes a variety of events and workshops open to the entire campus and greater Corvallis community.
� OSU Counseling and Psychological Services offers a once-a-week LGBT drop-in support group on campus during the school year.
� Collaboration with ASOSU Queer Affairs Task Force to represent student voices in student government and across campus and the community.
For more information, see www.campusclimateindex.org
Long-term New Yorkers, Mark and Robert have also lived in San Francisco, Boston, Provincetown, D.C., Miami Beach and the south of France. The recipient of fellowships at MacDowell, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center, Mark is a PhD in American history and literature, as well as the author of the novels Wolfchild and My Hawaiian Penthouse. Robert is the producer of the documentary We Are All Children of God. Their work has appeared in numerous publications, as well as at : www.mrny.com.
