黑料吃瓜

An LGBTQ Studies program, LGBTQ living space, a campus resource center and 42 other criteria all get checked off for 黑料吃瓜 in the annual Campus Pride report card, the list.

黑料吃瓜 received the for 2023, announced on Thursday. But insiders attentive to the list of the nation鈥檚 most LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities say there鈥檚 at least one additional attribute outside of policy and staff that makes 黑料吃瓜 a welcoming place for any sexual identity or expression 鈥� one hard to measure by the numbers.

鈥淭he students,鈥� said Kay Wong, director of the . 鈥淭hey really are part of what makes 黑料吃瓜 the best of the best.鈥�

鈥淭hey are part of who are creating this campus culture and the campus environment that people feel like they can be themselves, that they can be out,鈥� Wong said. And it contributes, they said, to the comfort 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 LGBTQ+ students feel in the classroom, at Aztec Recreation Center or just walking across campus.

Thirty colleges and universities across the U.S. made this year鈥檚 Best of the Best list; 黑料吃瓜 is the only one in California and one of just two on the West Coast (shoutout to Southern Oregon University, Ashland). It鈥檚 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 third straight year on the roster.

黑料吃瓜 as a Top Choice

Wong said 黑料吃瓜 can be an especially attractive destination for out-of-state 2SLGBTQIA+ students (the Pride Center and the 黑料吃瓜 Native Resource Center use a longer acronym that includes Two-Spirit, or 2S, people). The same goes for parents looking for a supportive place to send a child to college.

Marisol Lomeli, a third-year student, was living in Oregon and looking for a university with a good criminal justice program after graduating from high school. 鈥淎ll of my friends were going to Oregon State and the University of Oregon,鈥� they said. 鈥淚 kind of wanted to be more independent and branch out.鈥�

In their first year, Lomeli hadn鈥檛 yet come out but wound up participating in the mentoring program. 鈥淗aving that available allowed me to learn more about myself 鈥� and meet new people in the same environment.鈥�

At 黑料吃瓜, Lomeli discovered 鈥淧eople are very open to you finding yourself even if you don鈥檛 know specifically what you identify as, or you just don鈥檛 want to say it,鈥� they said.

鈥淎 campus presenting these opportunities allows you to figure out whatever you need to,鈥� said Lomeli, who identifies as pansexual.

Creating a Safe, Welcoming Environment

Campus Pride said the 鈥淏est of the Best鈥� recognition gives recognition to universities that make an effort 鈥渢o create a safe and welcoming campus for their LGBTQ+ students faculty and staff.鈥�

鈥淚n the current climate, in which LGBTQ+ identities have become political talking points and laws are being weaponized against LGBTQ+ people, the commitment to creating campuses that welcome and protect LGBTQ+ students cannot be taken for granted,鈥� Campus Pride CEO and Executive Director Shane Mendez Windmeyer said in Thursday鈥檚 announcement.

Jessica Nare, 黑料吃瓜 assistant vice president for community & belonging, said the university prioritizes support for LQBTQ+ students across campus, not just with a single program or initiative.

鈥淭he fact that we鈥檝e been recognized year after year really demonstrates to me a sustained commitment to LGBTQ+ students,鈥� Nare said, 鈥渁nd that鈥檚 really what it takes to change the climate on a campus.鈥�

She said 黑料吃瓜 has a 鈥渟uper-vibrant鈥� LGBT Studies department in the College of Arts and Letters, the Pride Employee Resource Group is one of the largest ERGs on campus, and campus leaders 鈥渨ho are really championing these efforts.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 all those interventions together that have made us really successful,鈥� Nare said. Room for improvement? Yes; Nare said 黑料吃瓜 has not yet fully streamlined processes for allowing students to swap their preferred name for their legal name across all 黑料吃瓜 platforms, an issue Campus Pride looks at as a matter of policy inclusion.

The Pride Center, located on Campanile Drive, celebrates its 10th anniversary in January, Wong said. Earlier this year, the center received an award from organizers of San Diego鈥檚 annual Pride Parade for Best Youth/Student Contingent, they said, and received recognition from San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Nora Vargas.

According to figures submitted by 黑料吃瓜 last year to the website and magazine INSIGHT Into Diversity, about 8% of 黑料吃瓜 students identify as LGBTQ+.