<p>“I imagine one could check the legacy box and take a picture of oneself atop a polo pony as well.”</p>
<p>to provide proof of holding a summer job as a stable hand. :)</p>
<p>Not certain Midd’s “marketing” itself by announcing a bit of a tip for gay prospects is silly, demeaning or trivial. </p>
<p>D2 is not gay (see my post about the BF), but early in her college search she scratched Hamilton off her list after reading/hearing that the student body was conserv and homophobic. She figured that (being black, and from an uber liberal/diverse NYC community and having lots of gay friends) she probab wouldn’t be comfortable there. Even thoug not benefic of the tip, the Midd policy would appeal to D2 (but not enought to overcome the middle-of-nowhere factor).</p>
<p>As for for twins, the color blind, conserv writers and other minorities, to the extent that colleges believe these groups offer a unique perspectives and desire that perspective on campus, schools are welome to recruit members of those groups. And while I don’t really believe that, as a group, male students w/ lower grades/socres than their famale conuterparts offer anything unique, I understand why Goucher, Sarah Lawrence, Wheaton, Wells and, to a lesser degree, Vassar, Conn College and Kenyon give a tip to the average Joes. And the same goes for the tip given to girls applying to tech programs.</p>
<p>“But focusing on your own mindset, and assuming that others are fascinated by it, will be very limiting.”</p>
<p>Let’s see… when my freshman-year roommates (from Indiana, Wahington State and New York) grilled me to find out if their soon-to-be, “strange-named” roommate was a switchblade-wielding, “West Side Story”, gang type Puerto Rican who was at Yale “by mistake” - and proceeded to confess all of their fears and misconceptions - they found out that I was a Puerto Rican from the island, gay, who spoke four languages and had higher SAT scores that they did. Sure, this was over two decades ago, but - if I remeber correctly - it was not that I was “fascinated by my mindset”, but that ALL our mindsets had to evolve, reshuffle, retrain and refrain from being exactly that - minds set. We were not in Bloomington, Scarsdale, Olympia and San Juan anymore. Weeks later, when one of them offered to “give me a ride to San Juan if I need it,” he might have been in need of a refresher course in geography, but not in human relations. The straight Jewish executive from New York and the gay Puerto Rican professor still are best friends. And full circle:when his daughter, now a sophomore at Princeton, found it difficult to deal with her freshman roommates’ disgust with her sexual preference, we supported her together through those tough times, even took a train to campus to have dinner with her and let her vent her frustrations.
She was not asking for others to be fascinated by her, but tolerant. It was great for her being remembered that, even twenty-some years ago, it was possible, but not common.</p>
<p>This also is telling:</p>
<p>“D2 is not gay (see my post about the BF), but early in her college search she scratched Hamilton off her list after reading/hearing that the student body was conserv and homophobic. She figured that (being black, and from an uber liberal/diverse NYC community and having lots of gay friends) she probab wouldn’t be comfortable there. Even thoug not benefic of the tip, the Midd policy would appeal to D2 (but not enought to overcome the middle-of-nowhere factor)”.</p>
<p>I agree- which I am going to restate- to try and make clearer- that although sexual preference should not matter to anyone outside of your sexual partners, it does.</p>
<p>My knowledge that I am part of the sexual majority, who is straight, married and prefers a bed 
also means that most share my view. </p>
<p>I know that I will be approved of- that I wont be targeted if I decide to hold hands with my husband while walking down the street, that when discussing Anna Karenina for example, her tragic end wont be blamed on the fact that she was hetero, and if I get a disease that is associated with white hetero women, people wont tell me to my face that it is my fault.</p>
<p>Will I be asked if I was born this way? If I have tried to change or will it be assumed that I am an immoral person because I am mostly hetero?</p>
<p>I have already had very offensive comments made to * me* by relatives, just because they heard that my daughter is a lesbian.</p>
<p>No it shouldn’t matter what someone does with another consenting adult in the bedroom, but I think, it will make a difference to a student who is homosexual, to be at a school who is making acommittment to state that they * want* them there, than to be at a school that is neutral or even hostile to them.</p>
<p>Old Campus,</p>
<p>That was beautiful, really. </p>
<p>Having said that, what does it have to do with Middlebury offering an admissions kick to gay students? Will this create more “gay-students” or will the pool of gay-students remain constant and the same amongst the university aged population. </p>
<p>I can’t imagine that otherwise straight students will decide to be gay to get an admissions boost at Middlebury. And it is not at all clear to me that Middlebury is offering any academic or social perks to gay students other than by (if all goes well) multiplying them by siphoning them away from other schools that would, presumably, have benefited from their presence. </p>
<p>Will Middlebury be poaching gay students away from say Swarthmore or Yale or–yikes–Columbia, making it less likely that students at those schools will benefit from the enlightening possibilities of not being simply a Puerto Rican or Iranian or a white-guy, but rather a Puerto Rican/Iranian/white-guy who knew a gay guy in college?</p>
<p>Maybe Middlebury lacks that, somewhat ephemeral, metrosexual vibe of a Columbia, or Swarthmore or Yale. </p>
<p>It’s in the middle of nowhere you know.</p>
<p>I understand this is a feel-good story…
…as was your story posted above. I’m glad it worked into something positive for not only you but a current student at Princeton.</p>
<p>Still, I see this as nothing but Madison Avenue marketeering from the beleaguered admissions committee at Middlebury. Nothing more.</p>
<p>"I understand this is a feel-good story…
…as was your story posted above. I’m glad it worked into something positive for not only you but a current student at Princeton.</p>
<p>Still, I see this as nothing but Madison Avenue marketeering from the beleaguered admissions committee at Middlebury. Nothing more."</p>
<p>Call it what you may, FountainSIren, but this thread more to do with the possibility of people being able to live their lives out there than with people posting on a thread.
And, by the way, it worked into something positive for them, my roommates, as it will for students who meet more gay people on their campuses.</p>