Assessing Acceptance

graphic by nina bridges

On the SU quad, directly in front of Hendrick’s Chapel, stands two flag posts, one of which flies the pride flag. As someone who remained trapped in the closet up until my first semester of college, I know all too well that hoisting up a rainbow flag is easy, but it is not always paired with genuine acceptance. After assessing the campus environment (accompanied by several statistics), we at JERK feel that Syracuse University’s acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community is not a pretense, but a fact. 

Great Value Colleges ranks U.S. universities on a myriad of different characteristics, based on publicly accessible research. They currently have SU listed as the 10th most “LGBTQ-Friendly” college out of 50 other institutions. Their supporting research includes our LGBTQ+ Studies minor, learning community, resource center, first-year forum class, and University Senate Committee on LGBTQ+ concerns. Apart from these initiatives, the ranking fails to acknowledge additional student organizations such as Pride Union or the publication, The OutCrowd.

The foremost ranking of SU for LGBTQ+ acceptance was at the top of the list of reasons as to why I chose to attend Syracuse, over the handful of other universities I applied to. Coming out as a lesbian when I was in high school was not an option, due to my father’s stereotypical Catholic beliefs. I wanted to create a life somewhere that loudly expressed my own values of creative expression and support, instead of conformity and repression— what one would assume to be a pretty standard baseline. Even then, I didn’t realize just how much SU would exceed my expectations on this front.

During one of the countless freshman orientation activities I attended my first week at Syracuse, there was a safe/consensual sex presentation. This was the first time I had ever witnessed a non-herteronormative presentation on anything regarding sex. Since then, I have continued to recognize LGBTQ+ acceptance and representation on campus. 

One of my favorite memories of freshman year was the Pride Union’s annual drag show. I remember walking into Goldstein Auditorium with some friends and being in complete astonishment to see the room filled to its entirety. I thought to myself, “Holy shit! This is what it’s supposed to be like; this is acceptance.”

In 2014, SU ranked 5/5 stars on Campus Pride Index for “Overall Campus Pride Index Score”, according to WRVO Public Media; however, today the score has gone down to the still respectable, 4/5 stars.

So, the question remains, what has changed on campus between 2014 and today (besides the huge change in the political atmosphere of the country, of course)?

The biggest difference is probably higher standards in how acceptance is shown. In 2015, higher LGBTQ+ national benchmarks were put into place for universities and institutions to achieve. According to the 2015 benchmarks, there are a number of things that SU can implement in order to generate a “perfect score”. If a perfect score is achieved; however, that gives the false allusion that no more work needs to be done— which we all know, is just not true. The goal is to strive for universal acceptance, not to fool yourself into thinking that the system will be perfect that easily.

Regardless of scores, stars, or rankings, it is clear that the acceptance and support of the LGBTQ+ community is a priority of Syracuse University, and we are here for it!