Shane Windmeyer

With improvements made across the country, for the first time ever, Campus Pride can assemble a list of the most welcoming places for trans students to go to college. - The Advocate Gay & Lesbian News Magazine

Dan Cathy, president of Chick-fil-A, is in for a shock when thousands of college students go back to school this month. His anti-gay remarks, coupled with Chick-fil-A's secretive donations to anti-gay organizations and a documented hate group for nearly a decade (to the accumulated sum of $5 million), add fuel to an already burning fire. - The Advocate Gay & Lesbian News Magazine

It should not surprise anyone that a company that sells chicken using cows would also claim to be a Christian-principled family business and then take profits to fund hate groups. The real issue at hand is not freedom of speech or same-sex marriage but Chick-fil-A's secretive funding of documented anti-gay hate groups. The national organization Campus Pride made this clear last week in releasing "5 Simple Facts About Chick-fil-A." Campus Pride specifically called upon our nation's student leaders to share the truth about Chick-fil-A and its funding of radical-right-wing organizations and documented hate groups. - Huffington Post Online - Gay Voices

The executive director of another organization, Campus Pride, which is a national nonprofit working to make colleges and campuses safer for LGBT students, issued a statement saying he was "deeply disappointed and remains conflicted over the punishment in this case."

Shane Windmeyer said he hopes that schools nationwide have learned something from the tragic case: "Colleges and universities across the country need to take greater accountability for the safety of LGBT students and actively discourage the bystander behaviors that attributed to this tragedy." - LA Times

The lack of a policy about transgender accommodations underscores a larger problem in higher ed, said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride.

Colleges should be proactive in establishing clear policies and gender-neutral facilities, said Windmeyer, whose organization advocates for the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students. While many transgender people prefer gender-neutral restrooms, also called family restrooms, Windmeyer said individuals should also be able to use a bathroom that aligns with their gender identity. In failing to allow that, Windmeyer said Arkansas-Fort Smith erred.

“It sounds like the campus has not done a good job taking responsibility for creating a welcoming, safe space for trans-identified students,” Windmeyer said. “It is unrealistic to ask anyone to go across campus in between classes to be able to use the restroom.” - Inside Higher Ed

This month, the Princeton Review released the 2010 edition of its annual college guide, The Best 371 Colleges . The results are based on surveys from 122,000 students at the 371 top colleges and provides "Top 20" rankings of schools that are best for jocks, for serious students, and for those looking to party. According to the Princeton Review, the rankings aim to help students and parents answer that all-important question: "What is the best college for me?" - The Advocate Gay & Lesbian News Magazine

Morehouse College has it all wrong again.

In what administrators call an effort to uphold the private, all-male university's legacy and reputation, they recently approved a new “Appropriate Attire Policy.” Among typical clothing standards, the policy goes on to state, “No wearing of clothing associated with women’s garb (dresses, tops, tunics, purses, pumps, etc.) on the Morehouse campus or at College-sponsored events.” - The Advocate Gay & Lesbian News Magazine

There are no words or sentiments – not even a guilty verdict – that can bring Tyler back to his family and friends, and this trial’s conclusion will not end the daily torment and harassment of LGBT students on college and university campuses across the nation. Campus Pride's national research study, "The 2010 State of Higher Education for LGBT People," shows that one in four gay, lesbian and bisexual college students and nearly one in two transgender students face harassment on campus. - The Advocate Gay & Lesbian News Magazine

“I
didn’t want to simply highlight the schools in
progressive states,” Windmeyer says. “We
highlight colleges that are progressive in their area
of the country. If you’re in Nebraska, you
don’t have to go to California to find a school
that takes responsibility for its LGBT students.” - The Advocate Gay & Lesbian News Magazine

This delicate balance often puts gay students in a "conflicted state of acceptance," said Shane L. Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride, a national organization that helps colleges assess their gay friendliness. "The church wants to love the person and hate the sin. But what does that really mean?"

So visible support for gay students -- such as a resource center, rainbow stickers, club tables and awareness weeks -- is especially important at religious schools, he said. But such actions do not change campus attitudes overnight, he said. - Washington Post

The line between hazing and homophobia is often blurry, said Shane L. Windmeyer, the executive director of Campus Pride, a national group for gay students, and author of several books about gay life on college campuses.

“Hazing often gets taken to a new level when it’s against someone who is gay,” he said. “Obviously someone’s own prejudice or fears will motivate them to haze and, in many cases, to take more extreme actions.” - New York Times

“Actually going out and recruiting a gay student — that’s a very new thing for colleges,” says Shane L. Windmeyer, the co-founder of Campus Pride, a national organization that promotes safe college environments for gay students and sponsored the event.

Students are looking for colleges where they will feel comfortable and safe, Mr. Windmeyer says. Also, he says, “straight students who have gay family members want to find a campus that is welcoming,” so, for example, two moms can show up for parents weekend without a ripple. “They don’t want to pick a college that’s not going to be accepting of people they love.”
- New York Times

Shane L. Windmeyer is a featured monthly contributor to the Huffington Post Gay Voices section as a national LGBT civil rights leader. - Huffington Post Online - Gay Voices