A national organization recently awarded Penn State a five-star rating for its LGBT-friendly learning environment -- but some staff and students say the university can still do more to create a welcoming climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students.
Campus Pride, a non-profit national organization that promotes acceptance of LGBT students on college campuses, awarded Penn State the highest rating on its Campus Climate Index, which measures how inclusive LGBT programs, practices and policies are at universities across the nation, Executive Director Shane Windmeyer said.
The rating doesn't assess students' feelings of inclusiveness on campus, but a study with those ratings will come out within the next year, he said. Penn State has long been a leading institution of LGBT-friendly climates, with its large number of LGBTA clubs, organizations, events and speakers, he said.
"It doesn't surprise me that Penn State received a 5-star rating, with so many great resources and staff, like [professor] Sue Rankin and [LGBTA Student Resource Director] Allison Subasic, whom I know personally," Windmeyer said.
Subasic herself is happy with the rating Penn State has received.
"I think we deserved it because we rank really high in the areas they have listed," she said. "We have a lot of policies in place that make the workplace a really positive thing -- things like domestic partner benefits, among others."
But while Subasic thinks Penn State is definitely deserving of the rating, she believes the university needs more education on campus climate issues. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done to make sure Penn State is a welcoming environment for LGBT students, staff and faculty, she said.
Indeed, she thinks the pressing question is how these resources available at Penn State are actually being used.
Some students in the LGBTA community agree with Subasic. The rating is accurate and flattering, but creating an accepting campus climate is about much more than programming, Lianna Newman (senior-media studies) said.
"Personally, I think Penn State deserves 2.5 to three stars. I think five is giving a lot of credit toward the school when only a few areas of school are working toward climate," Newman said.
"Bigger and more influential areas of the university should advocate more for the LGBTA community."
Newman said the Sexuality and Gender Studies minor is definitely a milestone for LGBT issues on campus, but she thinks much more can be done to improve feelings of inclusiveness on campus, such as requiring participation in Straight Talk -- a panel of LGBT students who provide education on sexual identity and gender orientation to students -- for every major.
