Posted on 05/03/2002 6:24:06 AM PDT by Lance Romance
Report assesses climate for gays, lesbians at UGA
Rebecca McCarthy - Staff
Friday, May 3, 2002
Athens --- University of Georgia senior Madison Burnett has heard the story about a gay UGA student being beaten by "frat boys." She knows that some lesbian undergraduates have been verbally harassed in downtown Athens. And she has been in classrooms where professors assume everyone is headed into a traditional marriage.
So she wasn't surprised by the findings in a new report, "In the Shadow of the Arch," which focuses on the climate for sexual minorities at UGA. It marks the first time such a survey has been conducted on the campus.
Burnett, 24, who's bisexual, said the report highlights the problems that the gay and lesbian community has known about for a long time. "Even though we don't want to believe it, the university isn't always a safe place," she said.
The report began as a project in a graduate education course. Students reviewed campus climate surveys on other college campuses across the country and learned that UGA never had done such a survey. After talking with Lou Castenell, director of the new office of institutional diversity, faculty and staff formed the UGA Campus Climate Research Group to gather data.
The group chairman, education professor Robert Hill, said they used lists from campus groups known to be supportive of non-heterosexuals, and placed ads in the Red & Black student newspaper. After distributing 223 surveys, the group received 82 responses in December.
The number of responses suggests that many gay and lesbian students at Georgia don't want to identify themselves, researchers said.
One out of two respondents said they had experienced prejudice on campus; 60 percent knew someone who'd been shunned because of sexual orientation; one of 10 had been threatened with physical violence; and three of every four knew someone who'd been verbally harassed.
"A lot of people hate things they don't even know about," said UGA junior Nica Clarke. "They see the stereotypes of gay people, and they presume that all gay people are like that because they don't know anyone personally."
Some 87 percent said they felt safe in their residence hall or apartment, but 50 percent didn't feel safe off campus. Two of every five had experienced prejudice in downtown Athens, the report found.
Law student Colin Wright, active in many student organizations, including the Student Government Association, is upfront with professors and classmates about being gay. He hasn't had any problems, though. "Most people would probably prefer that I shut up," he said.
Wright knows that other homosexuals haven't fared as well. He'd like UGA President Michael Adams to talk publicly about the need to treat everyone fairly, he said. "But more and more, I'm realizing that he's just not interested in making any progress in improving the climate" for gay and lesbian students, Wright said.
Adams said he wants the campus to be a place with a level of civility allowing people to feel welcome, but he thinks the student body is more responsible for setting the climate on campus than he is.
The research group compiled a list of recommendations, including the "implementation, publication and enforcement" of UGA's anti-discrimination policy; creation and financial support of a resource officer for gay and lesbian students; and increased educational programs for UGA students related to the safety and acceptance of gay and lesbian students.
Castenell said his diversity office will start doing an annual assessment of the climate on campus for everyone, including women and racial and sexual minorities, in a "state of the university" report.
"We should have zero tolerance for prejudice because of race, gender or sexual orientation --- because it compromises the basic mission of the university," Castenell said. "We don't want to lose talented people --- whether faculty, staff or students --- because they don't feel that the climate here is tolerant."
The number of responses suggests that many gay and lesbian students at Georgia don't want to identify themselves, researchers said. Or that the homosexual population is merely an aberrant subgroup. This is right up there with "unreported crimes". These people display their lifestyle on their sleeve and then get upset when someone exerciser their right to dislike them. I also like the "story" of the frat boys beating on a fag. I have a couple stories too.
Note to moderator: I Could have gone over the top with my comments but you will see that I restrained myself .....
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