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Virginia Tech’s campus climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students was under review Tuesday as advocacy group Equality Virginia stopped in Blacksburg to discuss campus policies.
The stop was one of several in a statewide tour and the group had high praise for Tech’s LGBT community.
“Virginia Tech, along with a couple of other state schools such as Mary Washington and George Mason, has one of the strongest LGBT student groups in the state,” said James Parrish, deputy director of Equality Virginia. “Blacksburg has a very strong LGBT community as well. It seems like a little spot of heaven.”
LGBTA president Sara Brickman said Tech is “a lot more of a welcoming environment” than most expect.
“But there are still issues, and coming out is still hard for many people,” Brickman said.
Jean Elliott, co-chair of the LGBT Caucus at Tech and a spokesperson for the college of liberal arts and human sciences, agreed with Brickman that coming out is difficult.
“I think we have a lot of work to do and I think that there are a lot of people who dare not come out; the fear is real,” Elliott said. “But I think there’s a welcoming climate here too. I feel very comfortable. I’ve been here for 11 years and I came out when I got to campus. I’m so appreciative of the freedom that I feel here.”
Tech earned 3.5 out of five stars in the Campus Climate Index, a ranking system developed by Campus Pride, a national LGBT organization. The index ranks college campuses on the quality of life provided for LGBT students and helps set standards for LGBT-friendly policies.
Shane Windmeyer, co-founder and director of Campus Pride and an author on gay campus issues, said 3.5 stars is in the 60th percentile.
“Virginia Tech, being in Virginia, is doing well. Virginia is a very conservative state politically,” Windmeyer said. “I’m very proud of the fact that Virginia Tech is doing so well, but there’s definitely room for improvement.”
Tech’s lowest score in the index came in LGBT recruitment and retention efforts, with the university graded at two out of five stars.
“It’s not just a matter of recruitment and retention of students, it’s about faculty and staff too,” Elliott said. “We recently lost a pair of researchers who brought in millions of dollars in research grants who moved back to Massachusetts so they could get married. That’s a huge loss to a university.”
Tech scored a perfect five out of five in the “LGBT Counseling and Health” category.
William Lewis was just recently appointed vice president of diversity and inclusion, which is the top diversity position at Tech. Because he has only been here for about three weeks, Lewis said he is still learning about all of the different facets of diversity on campus.
“It’s hard for me to say how the LGBT student, faculty and staff population experience Tech because I haven’t had much interaction,” Lewis said.
While the Campus Climate Index is a good measure, Campus Pride’s website states that it is not a replacement for more holistic and focused research that should be done by each individual school.
A version of this article appeared in the Sep 22 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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Your lifestyle will lead you to damnation turn away from sin and embrace the love of the lord. The acts of homosexuality that you perform are an abomination to our lord. There is still hope for you for our lord is a lord of infinite patience that truly loves you all. Turn towards the lord and repent for your wrongdoing and you shall be saved from your fate in hell where it is written that the fires of hell are fueled by the bodies of the homosexuals. Jesus died so that we all can be saved and through him you can avoid you fate in the hellfire.
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Troll... If you believe that fire and brimstone garbage, fine. But don't try to ram your beliefs down everyone else's throats. And no need to try to return with gay rights being jammed down the throats of us straight people - that's just not how it's happening. A couple just might want to be able to walk across the Drillfiend without being verbally and physically assaulted...
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This isn't a matter to be taken lightly the homosexuals on this campus are sinning against the lord and see no problem with their lifestyle. They need to be educated and shown the error in their ways and the salvation of the lord. I'm not making up the part about them fueling the fires of hell that's why some people refer to them as fagots because their bodies serve as fagots of wood in the eternal hellfire. Repent and the lord with forgive you.
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At least we will be warm.
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Luke 16:18 "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery."
Leviticus 20:10 "If a man commits adultery with another man's wife--with the wife of his neighbor--both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death."
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Yes adultery is a sin and if you repent for said sin then you are fine. In the New Testament Jesus overturned the religious laws regarding punishment in this life, stating that the state laws override them. Now the sin relating to homosexuality is not in this category as the punishment is rendered in the afterlife. It would be sin to stone gays but they will still burn in hell without repenting.
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What are you trying to do Mandy your link is all messed up. Instead of mocking you should be open minded.
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Yo, this university is secular. If I wanted to listen to this sermon, I would go to church.
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No the University isn't secular while it doesn't discriminate against different religions there are churches on campus and faculty lead prayers. Regardless there's the University support of free speech which is being exercised here. It's important that homosexuals are made aware of the fact that without accepting Jesus Christ and repenting for their sin they will be doomed to damnation.
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When thinking of positive attributes, generally the terms that come to mind are along the lines of "accepting," "open-minded," "compassionate," and, yes, even "pious." Take note, Mr. or Ms. Fire and Brimstone, because I can't say I have ever met anyone who associates a positive connotation with such terms as "bigoted," "blockheaded," "hateful," or "religious extremist." You are pigeonholing and condemning many people based simply on one factor of their lives, regardless of whether or not they are good people. As far as I am concerned, being LGBT has nothing whatsoever to do with a person going to this supposed hell you speak of.
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As far as God is concerned it does. It is written that the homosexual lifestyle is vile and repulsive. Following that lifestyle without repenting will result in damnation. It's in the Bible, black and white, it is not up for interpretation. If you believe in God and think that being gay is okay you are wrong and this myth that's it's okay needs to be stopped.
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Jesus on religious trolls...
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That doesn't apply to this situation if you look I'm not passing judgment I'm simply stating fact. Just because you don't like the facts doesn't make them invalid.
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"It is written that the homosexual lifestyle is vile and repulsive."
Who wrote that again? Just wondering, of course.
God wouldn't make me a certain way then punish me for it. That would be mean.
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Moses wrote that and God is testing you by making you a homosexual. We all are given temptation in life and it's up to us to resist it. God also creates pedophiles it doesn't make their actions less sinful anymore than it does yours.
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"Tech’s lowest score in the index came in LGBT recruitment and retention efforts, with the university graded at two out of five stars."
The ideal situation is having an atmosphere on campus where LGBT people are comfortable enough that they don't feel the need to band together in a group. So why are we graded poorly for not having high recruitment numbers?
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I think you're confusing what is meant by "LGBT recruitment and retention." Without actually looking into it myself, I think it has to do with recruitment and retention of LGBT professors and researchers - not anything to do with LGBT student groups.
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Just a few details that are actually incorrect on the Campus Climate Index:
LGBT and Ally student scholarships -- the LGBTCaucus actually has two scholarships that they give out annually (and have for the past two years), the LGBT Scholarship and the Ally of the Year award.
Special Lavender or Rainbow Graduation ceremony for LGBT students and allies -- the LGBTA and LGBT Caucus have sponsored a LGBT graduates lavender ceremony for the past two years.
Hopefully these two errors will be fixed soon, improving our Campus Climate index even further.
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