Shane L. Windmeyer. The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students: A Comprehensive Guide to Colleges and Universities with the Best Programs, Services, and Student Organizations for LGBT Students. New York, Alyson Books, 2006. $21.95.
For LGBT students, finding a gay-friendly college campus can be a liberating experience. And now, thanks to the Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students, there's a well researched guidebook to help students choose a place where they will be comfortable and welcomed. This book offers a list of the 100 best schools in the United States for LGBT students, with information about what students can expect on each of these campuses.
What's most impressive about this book is its detail. In selecting and researching his top 100 list, author Shane Windmeyer conducted online interviews with over 4500 students and over 500 faculty members! Every chapter includes quotes from students describing their experiences. The chapters all end with the school's "Gay Point Average," which is determined by the presence on campus of LGBT organizations, Safe Zone programs, procedures for dealing with bias, and other gay-friendly policies and activities. Each chapter also contains a "progressive meter" that measures the openness of the campus, local community, and state community. And there's even information about the history of gay life and politics on each campus.
One useful thing about this book is that it can help students identify LGBT friendly campuses they didn't know about. For example, students might be surprised to learn that Indiana University is one of the most queer friendly schools in the country, even though it's smack dab in the middle of rural Indiana. And here's a school you might not expect on this list-- the University of Utah!
So where are the best schools for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered students? According to Windmeyer, here's the top 20 choices, in alphabetical order:
- American University
- Duke University
- Indiana University
- New York University
- Oberlin College
- Ohio State University
- Pennsylvania State University
- Princeton University
- Stanford University
- Tufts University
- University of California-Berkeley
- University of California-Los Angeles
- University of California-Santa Cruz
- University of Massachusetts-Amherst
- University of Michigan
- University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
- University of Oregon
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of Puget Sound
- University of Southern California
The one thing this book does not include that would be helpful- or at least amusing-- is a list of the most gay unfriendly schools in the country. While some choices may be obvious (Bob Jones University probably doesn't have a high Gay Point Average), it might be useful to get out the word about schools to avoid that don't overtly scream out homophobia.
If you're a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered student looking for a great place to go to school, pick up this book!
See also: Scholarships for LGBT Students
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