Most/Least LGBT-Friendly T14 Schools Forum

[altoid99]

I mean it's only 3 years of your time and at the very worst the school is only going to fawn over your sexuality slightly. It makes more sense to pick a school that places best in the region you wish to practice and has the best employment statistics. This isn't UG where picking a school based on tertiary concerns is super applicable. Like others have mentioned, any decent school is absurdly liberal already.

Again, not so much about the school, but the area it's in. It's not really as simple as you're making it out to be, but it's hard to understand.

I agree. Unless you're LGBT, you don't understand. And dismissing this as a "tertiary" concern is evidence of ignorance (or lack of empathy?). I agree that this isn't UG and you should choose which LS to attend based primarily on post-grad employment statistics and the such. But you're most likely to get good grades and thus give yourself the best opportunity to succeed at a place that you're happy at. And pardon me, but 3 years is a long period of time for some people.

[chuckbass]

And as an LGBT student having spent 3 years at a Christian college, I can certainly attest to this not being a tertiary concern, and this definitely plays into where I would want to go to law school.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I also don't think anyone's suggested they're going to sacrifice significant employment advantages for community. Even if you look only at employment prospects, people debate which of the top schools to attend based on money, where they want to practice, connections, etc. - there are legitimate reasons to attend any of the T14 (or insert whatever school range you prefer here). People ITT are talking about things like going to Berkeley over Virginia, not USF Law over Virginia.

[Summerz]

I thought Penn was known as the gayest? And I know that UVA goes out of its way to let applicants know they're lgbt friendly. I can't imagine that any of them would be unfriendly, but I can imagine the scene in the surrounding communities varies quite drastically.

Over the last couple years I have spent a fair amount of time with P students and the subject has never come up.

[PalmBay]

To those asking about Penn.
While I am not LGBT, I've been in and around Philadelphia for several years for school, work, play, etc. and Philadelphia is a fairly LGBT-friendly city.
Some have even argued that Philadelphia is the nation's most LGBT friendly city.
http://www.frontiersla.com/frontiers-bl ... -in-the-us

[sah]

It's also partly about personality. I'm sure UVA is not an intolerant place, but it has a reputation for being bro-y and fratty. I can say as a gay dude that I probably wouldn't get along great with a lot of guys like this, even if they are really gay friendly, just because our interests/personalities would be very different.

[midwest17]

It's also partly about personality. I'm sure UVA is not an intolerant place, but it has a reputation for being bro-y and fratty. I can say as a gay dude that I probably wouldn't get along great with a lot of guys like this, even if they are really gay friendly, just because our interests/personalities would be very different.

This seems to involve several unjustified stereotypes. I know "bro-y and fratty" gay guys, and straight guys who don't get along well with "bro-y and fratty" guys. Your personality clashes with these types of people can't be reduced to "as a gay dude."

[Hipster but Athletic]

Is it possible that one school is better for gay people and one school better for transsexuals?

[PalmBay]

It's also partly about personality. I'm sure UVA is not an intolerant place, but it has a reputation for being bro-y and fratty. I can say as a gay dude that I probably wouldn't get along great with a lot of guys like this, even if they are really gay friendly, just because our interests/personalities would be very different.

For what it's worth, at my UG the biggest "bro" and "fratty" types were actually gay dudes. I think those personalities are just that, personalities, and not necessarily a result of a specific sexual orientation.

[chuckbass]

To those asking about Penn.
While I am not LGBT, I've been in and around Philadelphia for several years for school, work, play, etc. and Philadelphia is a fairly LGBT-friendly city.
Some have even argued that Philadelphia is the nation's most LGBT friendly city.
http://www.frontiersla.com/frontiers-bl ... -in-the-us

Philly is super gay, considering the street signs in the gayborhood are rainbow. However I don't think it's the most gay friendly. Having lived in Philly and DC, DC is far more gay friendly. I'd feel a lot more comfortable holding hands with a guy in the gayborhood than the rest of the city, including the rest of center city and Rittenhouse. Compare this to DC, while dupont is the gay neighborhood, the whole city has become pretty gay and I'd feel comfortable in pretty much all of NW, not just dupont.

[indigomachine]

Is it possible that one school is better for gay people and one school better for transsexuals?

I know NYU is working on this, but beyond that my intuition is that schools that are better on the LGBT front generally (e.g. Berkeley, CLS, NYU, Penn) are probably better in this are too. Unfortunately, T issues tend to be marginalized by comparison to the LGB part of LGBT, so it seems kind of unlikely a school would be better with the trans community and noticeably worse than other schools with the gay community.

[tigersaresexy]

As a straight girl who just spent 4 years in DC I tell every gay guy/girl I meet to go to DC. It's like paradise for you over there, the streets are teeming with attractive gays, there's a gay kickball team celebrating in every bar and the Grindr scene is superb. My LGBT friends like to call Adams Morgan 'Gaysneyland' and it's hard to drive by a church that doesn't have a rainbow flag on it with a "God loves everyone" message.

I know Gtown tends to have a more conservative reputation, but I can't possibly imagine it's LGBT unfriendly. Hell, I can't imagine anything in the district being LGBT unfriendly.

[chuckbass]

As a straight girl who just spent 4 years in DC I tell every gay guy/girl I meet to go to DC. It's like paradise for you over there, the streets are teeming with attractive gays, there's a gay kickball team celebrating in every bar and the Grindr scene is superb. My LGBT friends like to call Adams Morgan 'Gaysneyland' and it's hard to drive by a church that doesn't have a rainbow flag on it with a "God loves everyone" message.

I know Gtown tends to have a more conservative reputation, but I can't possibly imagine it's LGBT unfriendly. Hell, I can't imagine anything in the district being LGBT unfriendly.

And it's hard to wonder why when the of adults in the city are LGBT.

[PepperJack]

UVa is not antigay. Nobody is going to make you uncomfortable most likely because nobody cares. Saying if south then less gay friendly is the sort of rash judgment that begets bigotry.

[chuckbass]

UVa is not antigay. Nobody is going to make you uncomfortable most likely because nobody cares. Saying if south then less gay friendly is the sort of rash judgment that begets bigotry.

Lol wut? The south is characteristically less gay friendly.

[californiauser]

UVa is not antigay. Nobody is going to make you uncomfortable most likely because nobody cares. Saying if south then less gay friendly is the sort of rash judgment that begets bigotry.

UVA might not be, but Charlottesville? Are you trying to imply that Charlottesville engenders a similar gay experience as Berkeley or DC?

[PalmBay]

To those asking about Penn.
While I am not LGBT, I've been in and around Philadelphia for several years for school, work, play, etc. and Philadelphia is a fairly LGBT-friendly city.
Some have even argued that Philadelphia is the nation's most LGBT friendly city.
http://www.frontiersla.com/frontiers-bl ... -in-the-us

Philly is super gay, considering the street signs in the gayborhood are rainbow. However I don't think it's the most gay friendly. Having lived in Philly and DC, DC is far more gay friendly. I'd feel a lot more comfortable holding hands with a guy in the gayborhood than the rest of the city, including the rest of center city and Rittenhouse. Compare this to DC, while dupont is the gay neighborhood, the whole city has become pretty gay and I'd feel comfortable in pretty much all of NW, not just dupont.

I have no doubt DC is more gay-friendly as a whole, just wanted to point out that at least one person has tried to make the case that Philly is the most gay-friendly city in the U.S. I haven't been to many cities outside Philadelphia, so I don't really have an opinion on whether it's more gay-friendly than another or not.

[PepperJack]

UVa is not antigay. Nobody is going to make you uncomfortable most likely because nobody cares. Saying if south then less gay friendly is the sort of rash judgment that begets bigotry.

UVA might not be, but Charlottesville? Are you trying to imply that Charlottesville engenders a similar gay experience as Berkeley or DC?

I'm saying people mostly won't care one way or the other in Charlottesville. I'm sure you can find biggots everywhere. I don't know about the gay experience because I am not gay, but I think it's silly to choose a law school based off sexuality when no one I know would treat you any differently.

[chuckbass]

UVa is not antigay. Nobody is going to make you uncomfortable most likely because nobody cares. Saying if south then less gay friendly is the sort of rash judgment that begets bigotry.

UVA might not be, but Charlottesville? Are you trying to imply that Charlottesville engenders a similar gay experience as Berkeley or DC?

I'm saying people mostly won't care one way or the other in Charlottesville. I'm sure you can find biggots everywhere. I don't know about the gay experience because I am not gay, but I think it's silly to choose a law school based off sexuality when no one I know would treat you any differently.

Dude are you serious right now?

[californiauser]

UVa is not antigay. Nobody is going to make you uncomfortable most likely because nobody cares. Saying if south then less gay friendly is the sort of rash judgment that begets bigotry.

UVA might not be, but Charlottesville? Are you trying to imply that Charlottesville engenders a similar gay experience as Berkeley or DC?

I'm saying people mostly won't care one way or the other in Charlottesville. I'm sure you can find biggots everywhere. I don't know about the gay experience because I am not gay, but I think it's silly to choose a law school based off sexuality when no one I know would treat you any differently.

[jbagelboy]

UVa is not antigay. Nobody is going to make you uncomfortable most likely because nobody cares. Saying if south then less gay friendly is the sort of rash judgment that begets bigotry.

UVA might not be, but Charlottesville? Are you trying to imply that Charlottesville engenders a similar gay experience as Berkeley or DC?

I'm saying people mostly won't care one way or the other in Charlottesville. I'm sure you can find biggots everywhere. I don't know about the gay experience because I am not gay, but I think it's silly to choose a law school based off sexuality when no one I know would treat you any differently.

No one is suggesting they would "choose a law school based off [sic] sexuality," but it's certainly a fair factor in location preference. Once you've determined your career goals, debt aversion, and post-grad target market, where you can be happiest for three significant years can be an important tie breaker or help decide between roughly equivalent opportunities - just like any major migratory life-career decision.

[chuckbass]

UVa is not antigay. Nobody is going to make you uncomfortable most likely because nobody cares. Saying if south then less gay friendly is the sort of rash judgment that begets bigotry.

UVA might not be, but Charlottesville? Are you trying to imply that Charlottesville engenders a similar gay experience as Berkeley or DC?

I'm saying people mostly won't care one way or the other in Charlottesville. I'm sure you can find biggots everywhere. I don't know about the gay experience because I am not gay, but I think it's silly to choose a law school based off sexuality when no one I know would treat you any differently.

Like other people have said, it's a valid factor. We're not saying choose American over Duke because DC is more gay friendly. To get back to the actual point of this thread... Among the T14 this can be a helpful factor for some in making a decision between schools that offer similar employment outcomes. I'd be much more likely to choose Berkeley over UVA, or Michigan over Duke, because of something such as gay friendliness.

[BVest]

I think most in this thread would be surprised to learn how progressive both Charlottesville (and even surrounding Albemarle county) and Durham are.

[worldtraveler]

One of the things no one has discussed in this thread is student health centers and insurance plans. Some schools have coverage for therapy sessions for LGBT students struggling to cope with the stress of coming out, and I think Michigan will cover surgery to transition and has a support program in place for transgender students. LGBT friendly health services aren't easily found everywhere, so it is something to consider.

[RCO2012]

1) As for DC, it is absolutely a great place to be to experience the LGBT scene. There are lots of activities to participate in whether you're just looking to get to know others or are looking to get into activism. Plus, the gay flag football team isn't bad either.
2) I think this discussion has a lot to do with what you're looking for with the LGBT community where you are going. If you are a single LGBT, I could see where this could matter quite significantly (more people to hang out with, go out to gay clubs/bars that may not be nearby in certain other towns, etc.). For those of us who aren't single, I don't think the LGBT community is as big of a deal. My SO and I only have one other LGBT friend that we see regularly (and we live just outside of DC), because we are busy with work, school, and when we get a free second we generally want to spend it alone taking the dogs for a run or whatever.
3) I'm not expecting to see rainbow flags on every corner at UVA, but I have no doubt that I will have no trouble finding social activities . Also, DC is 2 hours from C-Ville, and you can even cut it down to 1:45 if you know the shortcuts, so going to DC on the weekends(probably when you'll have the most time to go to bars/clubs anyway during 1L) isn't a big deal.

I definitely think there are different views within the LGBT community purely based on relationship status. If I was single, I think how "gay" the surrounding area is may have come into consideration. Then again, I met my partner in Utah, so…I guess you'll never know where you'll find you're match. Also, to note, the UVA page has their student profiles, and the first profile is a 3L who is engaged to be married to his current boyfriend who also graduate from UVA the year before. I don't want people to think that the LGBT life in C-Ville is nonexistent, lol.