Gays at Williams

Teltar
Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:39:58 +0000

Once again mythmom does not give the best answer from a student’s prespective. I know several members of the QSU and complaints are sort of universal; there are not a lot of open-LGBT students on campus. The predominant athletic campus culture sort of makes those LGBT students that are open self-segregate into social nets like the QSU or others that do not fit into the mainstream. The good part about this self-segregation is that the small number of LGBT students allows you to form strong bonds with your fellow LGBT classmates. If you are after something more than friendship however, this bond apparently subdues that tendency due to the lack of privacy and relatively few open students. Other LGBT students that are not really open devote themselves to other areas rather than their sexuality, such as focusing on academics.

However, parties are Williams are VERY hetero-normative, and the hook-up culture predominantly excludes LGBT students. Being a veteran of two Queer Bashes (the party that mythmom talks about), I can say for sure that there is no difference between this party and the standard Williams drunken festival aside from the excuse for guys to check out scantily-clad women and vice versa. The one this semester is a case in point. The crowd was dominated by the usual Williams drunken revelry while the few LGBT students in attendence (all members of the QSU) danced in the back of the crowd.

To balance out this negativity though, Williams as an institution has many resources for LGBT students and those coming out. The campus consistently advertises counseling, and the QSU this year has started a calling service that links QSU members with those that need someone to talk too. The QSU does attempt to plan gatherings and social events to a degree of success.

Just to summarize, the official policy of Williams is open to LGBT and there are many (from what I have heard, unused) resources available for those students. However, in terms of campus culture, LGBT students will have a harder time integrating themselves openly given the inherently-homophobic nature of Williams’ athletic culture. To quote an LGBT friend, “Bring your closets with you.”