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The Daily OrangeChanging direction
University LGBT climate transformed over 20-year period
By Julia Terruso
Posted: 10/7/08, 12:47 AM EST Section: News
The 1987 March on Washington brought 500,000 activists to Washington D.C. to speak out for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights. That same year, a road trip from the University of Colorado to Syracuse brought two students to a campus wrestling with many of the same LGBT issues.
The lesbian couple drove to Syracuse University to begin their graduate studies at what they hoped would be an accepting college campus. What Mary Porter and gender-transitioned Rob Pusch said they found in 1987 was a less than welcoming environment.
In their first two years on campus, a fraternity printed T-shirts that read "Bash Fags, Not Baby Seals."
"They wore them all around campus, and I don't even think they got a slap on the wrist," Pusch said.
A year later, the Harvard Review listed SU as one of the 10 most homophobic schools in the nation.
A lot has changed in 20 years. This past spring, The Advocate, a publication dedicated to coverage of the LGBT community, gave SU a five-star rating for LGBT acceptance based on its resource center, programs and education. SU was one of the nine institutions to earn the five-star rating. As a result of the award, Syracuse will host OUTspoken, a student-run conference for students throughout the northeast interested in improving their campus climates.
Porter remembered a Syracuse where if you chalked the Quad with rainbows or gay pride logos, the university would wipe it clean by the next day. Porter said she initially felt out of place.
"I don't shave my legs, and they're fairly hairy, so here I am, this open lesbian, the only one I knew of, in my program with 60 or 70 kids," Porter said. "I kept it to myself, especially in the beginning."
Porter's initial hesitancy to come out is known on today's campus.
Lauren Hannahs, president of SU's Pride Union, said there are students all over campus and even in the group who face a similar discomfort.
"The thing is, it's based on a core identity that isn't accepted overall," she said. "We have people active in Pride Union who can't talk about it or get their picture taken for fear of it getting out."
The lesbian couple drove to Syracuse University to begin their graduate studies at what they hoped would be an accepting college campus. What Mary Porter and gender-transitioned Rob Pusch said they found in 1987 was a less than welcoming environment.
In their first two years on campus, a fraternity printed T-shirts that read "Bash Fags, Not Baby Seals."
"They wore them all around campus, and I don't even think they got a slap on the wrist," Pusch said.
A year later, the Harvard Review listed SU as one of the 10 most homophobic schools in the nation.
A lot has changed in 20 years. This past spring, The Advocate, a publication dedicated to coverage of the LGBT community, gave SU a five-star rating for LGBT acceptance based on its resource center, programs and education. SU was one of the nine institutions to earn the five-star rating. As a result of the award, Syracuse will host OUTspoken, a student-run conference for students throughout the northeast interested in improving their campus climates.
Porter remembered a Syracuse where if you chalked the Quad with rainbows or gay pride logos, the university would wipe it clean by the next day. Porter said she initially felt out of place.
"I don't shave my legs, and they're fairly hairy, so here I am, this open lesbian, the only one I knew of, in my program with 60 or 70 kids," Porter said. "I kept it to myself, especially in the beginning."
Porter's initial hesitancy to come out is known on today's campus.
Lauren Hannahs, president of SU's Pride Union, said there are students all over campus and even in the group who face a similar discomfort.
"The thing is, it's based on a core identity that isn't accepted overall," she said. "We have people active in Pride Union who can't talk about it or get their picture taken for fear of it getting out."
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
John Doe
posted 10/07/08 @ 5:02 AM EST
Back in the day, you were "told" how to get an A in COM101. You were also "told" how to further your student career. And, sadly, certain instructors made clear their anti-homosexual stance. (Continued…)
Bruce Skewes
posted 10/07/08 @ 10:23 AM EST
All people deserve to be treated with kindness, love and respect. The most loving thing you can do is warn someone when they are in danger. Homosexual behavior brings about personal degradation, rampant disease and early death. (Continued…)
Bruce Skewes
posted 10/07/08 @ 10:28 AM EST
All people deserve to be treated with kindness, love and respect. The most loving thing you can do is warn someone when they are in danger. Homosexual behavior brings about personal degradation, rampant disease and early death. (Continued…)
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