While everyone should have equal access to education and be free to go to the college of their choice, this is sadly not the case for many open members of the LGBTQ community.
Prejudice is unfortunately something that they must battle against every day.
And often it’s not just a case of trying to avoid bullying or derogatory comments, but rather a much more serious threat to their safety.
This is why for members of the community, choosing a college to go to is much more than just looking at courses and majors.
Ensuring that you will be safe in the college that you attend is essential.
And though much of America is becoming increasingly progressive, there are still exceptions to the rule.
Many colleges are still filled with white supremacists with very outdated views which are upheld so passionately that they may become violent or aggressive.
So it’s no wonder that the usual ‘is it friendly?’ is more often than not now replaced with ‘is it safe?’
In this article, we’re going to talk about the 15 most unsafe colleges for LGBTQ members to attend, starting in reverse order.
University Of Arkansas – Fayetteville (Public Land Grant University In Fayetteville, AR)
If you’re a member of the LGBTQ community, you are going to want to try and avoid this campus.
The state of Arkansas has tried on several occasions to pass a ‘license to discriminate’ law.
What this means is that the state has tried to receive an exemption from restrictions on discrimination. This should cause immediate warning bells.
This is basically the state requesting that they should be able to discriminate against those whose actions go against their religious beliefs.
For a short time, there were LGBT-inclusive and anti-discrimination ordinances set in the college of Fayetteville.
However, this was repealed in an election from votes of college-goers.
This is certainly not an inclusive, supporting, or loving environment for gay, lesbian, or transgender students and I would be very concerned for the safety of these individuals.
Lehigh University (Private Research University In Bethlehem, Penn.)
While a college may not solely be responsible for the actions of their students, especially outside of class or campus, the way that they react to severe situations is a good indicator of how safe the environment will be.
During 2015, a Lehigh student along with two other males committed a hate crime against a gay student.
The aggressor, while still on campus, called the student several gay slurs before assaulting the victim.
The victim sustained serious head damage as a result of the attack and the student responsible was not condemned in any capacity for his actions.
The staff here would not provide the essential safe-guarding for LGBTQ students.
Calvin College (Protestant Liberal Arts College In Grand Rapids, Mich.)
The college itself states that they don’t view same-sex attraction as sinful, and that despite sexual orientation all individuals can still exhibit kindness, love, gentleness, and mercy.
However, these articles are ranked based on a Princeton review where 137,000 students were asked how much they agree or disagree with the following statement: ‘students treat all persons equally, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity.’ and this college ranked 13th overall for most strongly disagree.
So clearly, the students of the college do not follow the principles that are stated by the college.
Wake Forest University (Private Nonsectarian In Winston Salem, N.C)
This University has been on more than one of these types of lists, and as a repeat offender, this makes me quite nervous about the safety of its homosexual and transgender students.
A student from the college was interviewed and mentioned how most attendees of the college come from backgrounds where same-sex relations are often referred to as unnatural and sinful and so most are fairly unaccepting and uneducated about individuals that differ from them and their values.
Wheaton College (Liberal Arts College In Wheaton III)
If the treatment of the staff is any representation of how the students will be treated, then this college is not a safe environment for any LGBTQ members.
A staff member Julie Rodger wrote an expose in Time detailing how the college hired her knowing that she was openly gay as a resource for LGBT students.
However, once she was employed they began to ask her to not refer to herself as gay, stating that she should be known as a Christian woman who had experienced homosexual attraction but was hoping that the Lord would heal her and lead her to heterosexual marriage.
It is clear to see that openly gay individuals are not like nor respected at this college.
The University Of Alabama – Tuscaloosa (Large Public University In Tuscaloosa)
This college has always tended to have an overall hostile attitude towards members of the LGBTQ community.
Though this did not stop an LGBTQ student group from forming in the early 1980s which is still there to this day.
However, overall reports from The Princeton Review show that most homosexual students feel very unwelcome and supported in their studies.
Hillsdale College (Nonprofit, Government Funded Liberal Arts College Hillsdale, Mich)
This college makes its views on the LGBTQ community abundantly clear, and this comes from the higher-ups of the school.
So I would have no confidence that these teachers would safeguard against discrimination and violence against gay and trans students.
In fact, in 2015 the chaplain even sent out a college-wide email asking its students to pray against ‘evil’ homosexual marriage rights when it was being debated at the Supreme Court.
Hampden-Sydney College (Male Liberal Arts College In Hampden-Sydney, VA)
This college is also known for its lack of support and acceptance for LGBTQ students.
In fact, acceptance overall seems particularly difficult for those who attend the school, as there have been accusations of the school also being racist too.
A graduate once said about the school ‘it was difficult enough being a black person, I couldn’t have imagined being out on this campus.’
Baylor University (Private Baptist University In Waco, Texas)
Baylor University claims that it has become much more progressive since it dropped its longstanding ban on same-sex acts from the colleges sexual conduct policy.
However, students claim that there has not been a change in the general attitude towards members of the LGBTQ community.
A bisexual student claimed that only her closest friends are aware of her sexuality as she fears from the backlash she would receive from both students and teachers.
Grove City College (Christian Liveral Arts College In Grove City, Penn.)
This college is well known for its anti-gay attitudes and can be found on many lists much like this one.
I would massively worry about the safety of LGBTQ members at this college due to their insistence that homosexuality can be converted.
In fact the administrators even brought in an ‘ex-gay’ speaker to lecture the students about leaving the LGBTQ community and asking God to diminish their sinful lust.
University Of Tennessee, Knoxville (A Public Land Grand University, Tenn.)
Students here are known for their aggression towards Pride which makes me question how safe LGBTQ students would be in the College.
The college itself has a Pride center, but this is regularly damaged and vandalized.
It made headlines back in 2015 after a student ripped down the Pride flag and left a note which read ‘F– get AIDS more often. #ImWithHer.’
Brigham Young University (A Mormon Private Research University, Utah)
All LGBTQ members must avoid this university.
It is the country’s largest religious university, but the Christian values of love and acceptance do not extend to homosexual individuals.
In fact the colleges honor code actually prohibits homosexuality and a professor of the college was terminated for supporting LGBTQ during Pride.
Gordon College (Evangelical Non-Denominational Christian Liberal Arts College, Mass.)
This college is well known for its anti-homosexual agenda. It has recently been under much scrutiny for its recently repealed ‘homosexual ban.’
The college also petitioned for immunity from being prohibited from discriminating based on sexual preference.
Not only this but many teachers have also commented and sued the college for being denied a promotion due to their LGBTQ support.
Auburn University (Large Public Research University Auburn, Ala.)
Auburn university is known for being the 2nd largest university in Alabama, but it is also known for its discrimination and isolation of LGBTQ students.
Not something that you want to be known for. Most students that are part of the community talk about how ostracized and bullied they were for being themselves.
College Of The Ozarks (Christian Liberal Arts College, Mo.)
This college is known for being the least welcoming college in the US for LGBTQ students. Not exactly a title they should be proud of holding.
The school is very strict with its anti-gay rules which include absolutely no ‘touching, caressing, or physical contact of a sexual nature with a person of the same sex.’
Final Thoughts
Any of the colleges mentioned in this article should absolutely be avoided by any member of the LGBTQ community.
Each and every one of you deserves to be comfortable and safe while expressing exactly who you are.
And it is shameful that in this day and age that there are still colleges and schools where you cannot do so.
Hello, my name is Gay Worlley - no, really - and I love learning about all things queer. I am also a qualified gardener and enjoy traveling in my spare time.
I love sharing my travel stories with anyone who will listen, and now I want to share them with the world through my new website! Not only that, but I want to inspire others and teach you about LGBTQ+ travel, queer media, pride, and much more.
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