Is Berea College gay-friendly?

Northstarmom
Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:21:52 +0000

Seems reasonably gay-friendly.

“Concerning GLBT Equality:
The Berea College student handbook contains the following two statements regarding personal conduct:
“In light of its mission in the tradition of impartial love and social equality, Berea College welcomes all peoples of the earth to learn and work here. This means that the College welcomes all students and staff who seek to live and to learn at Berea in the context of our mission as expressed in the Great Commitments; but this does not mean that all behavior is considered acceptable. Given Berea’s inclusive welcome to all peoples of the earth, the College will not tolerate speech and acts that are harassing to anyone regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or other such distinguishing characteristics.”
“The Berea College community, as a steward of the Christian principles that brought Berea College into being, recognizes its responsibility to provide guidance for students in important areas of interaction and conduct. Drawing upon this historical inheritance and the challenges it poses to us all, we expect of our students high standards of personal conduct: to exercise tolerance and conflict resolution over violence and intimidation, to choose honesty in and out of the classroom, and to respect human sexual integrity in a way that encourages mature and faithful relationships and resists casual intimacy without responsibility. We encourage respect for the law while supporting the principle of nonviolent civil disobedience for reasons of conscience.”
The Berea College student handbook can be viewed here.
Berea College has a non-discrimination policy that reads:
“It is the policy of Berea College not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, sex, disability, or sexual orientation in its educational programs, admissions practices, scholarship and loan programs, athletics and other school-administered activities or employment practices.”
In 2000 a Domestic Partner Insurance policy was enacted to cover the partners of homosexual faculty and staff.
In addition, Berea College provides convocation events that bring to the campus speakers on a variety of subjects. GLBT issues are sometimes a topic. Judy Shepard, mother of slain gay college student Matthew Shepard, was invited to speak.”

[Equality Ride](http://www.equalityride.com/print_article.php?article_id=60)