Sexual Orientation Identity

Sexual Orientation Identity 

Through an identity development theorist’s lens, what are three things higher education leaders can do to improve the campus climate for LGB students?

Campus climate has been a major issue concerning Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) students in the U.S. There have been reports from LGBTQ students that the climate-their feelings of belonging, safety, and inclusion-in college is better than the one they experienced in high school (Kristen). Also, there is evidence that overall, campus climate has improved over the last 15 years. Other than LGBTQ issues with another diversity-related programming on campus, there is several specific programming that can increase inclusion and improve campus climate. They include: 

Administrative responsibility should be implemented for providing support and education. Currently, there are hundreds of institutions with LGBTQ campus resources centers staffed by professionals or graduate students, and the type of programs and services these centers offer can be provided in different ways even when a stand-alone resource center is not available. As such, graduate students, faculty and staff can be assigned responsibility for LGBTQ programs, service, and student organization advising. Despite the fact that there can value for LGBTQ students in providing student leadership in this area, depending on LGBTQ students themselves to provide professional-level services at scale is an untenable and irresponsible stance.

Institutions should design and fund co-curricular campus programs such as new student orientation, diversity education, and ongoing activities to support LGBTQ students and educate others on on-campus education inclusion. A comprehensive programming effort should include both support for LGBTQ students and education for others about LGBTQ students.

Also, LGBTQ topics should be included among other multicultural diversity and equity efforts on campus and offer stand-alone educational programs to provide opportunities for deeper exploration. It is also important for institutions to offer common offerings such as LGBTQ speakers Bureaus and safe zone programs to educate the campus community broadly and aim to increase support for LGBTQ.

In what ways does campus climate work benefit those with privileged identities?

There is a higher tendency of women, LGBT students, and students of color to experience harassment at greater rates than male, straight, or white students because of their lack of power in the social system. Usually, harassment takes place when those individuals from the dominant group try to maintain their social power (Reason et al., 22). Also, harassment occurs as a result of members of target groups try to advance their relative position at the expense of other target groups. i.e the harassment of LGBT students by women or students of color.

When harassment is viewed through a lens of power and privilege, women are more likely to rate the campus climate as sexist, hostile, and disrespectful, however more men indicated that the campus was non-sexist. As such, a power-and-privilege cognizant interpretation of the disconnection between experiences and climate assessments would suggest that men were able to overlook more subtle incidents of gender harassment since they are not directly targeted. Additionally, the incidents of harassment men experience do not influence their assessment of the climate as much as the incidents women witnessed. As a result, male privilege allows men to remain oblivious to, ignore, or diminish cases of sexual harassment since they don’t feel personally affected.

Work Cited

Renn, Kristen. "LGBTQ students on campus: Issues and opportunities for higher education leaders." (2017). 

Reason, Robert D., and Susan R. Rankin. "College Students' Experiences and Perceptions of Harassment on Campus: An Exploration of Gender Differences." College Student Affairs Journal 26.1 (2006): 7-29.