A Lesbigay Guide to Selecting the Best-Fit College or University and Enjoying the College Years

By Donald W. Hinrichs

"My brother wrote this book based on his own experiences and the experiences of hundreds of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students he counseled, talked to, and interviewed over the course of his 40-year teaching career.

The confusion he experienced during college, and the distress and intolerance he witnessed and heard about from students, lead him to realize that some college and university environments are simply not healthy places for LGBT young people to learn and grow and to sort out their own sexuality.

This book documents the problems LGBT students might encounter on campus, and provides advice on how LGBT students can select the best-fit college or university for them."

-Bill Hinrichs

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: May 15, 2007
• ISBN: 9780595879946

Donald W. Hinrichs

Donald W. Hinrichs earned a BA in sociology from McDaniel College, an MA in sociology from the University of Maryland, and a PhD in sociology from The Ohio State University. For thirty-seven years, he taught sociology and anthropology at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. In 2004, he retired to Montreal, Canada, where he now teaches urban sociology part time at McGill University. Dr. Hinrichs is the author of two other books published by iUniverse: My Life, Our Lives: Shared Experiences Through Poetry and A Lesbigay Guide to Selecting the Best-Fit College and University and Enjoying the College Years.

Book preview

A LesBiGay Guide to

Selecting the Best-Fit College

or University

and

Enjoying the College Years

Donald W. Hinrichs, PhD

iUniverse, Inc.

New York Lincoln Shanghai

A LesBiGay Guide to Selecting the Best-Fit College or University

and

Enjoying the College Years

Copyright © 2007 by Donald W. Hinrichs

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any

means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the

written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations

embodied in critical articles and reviews.

iUniverse books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

iUniverse

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www.iuniverse.com

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The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not

necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby

disclaims any responsibility for them.

ISBN: 978-0-595-43665-1 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-0-595-87994-6 (ebk)

Contents

Acknowledgements

Beginning Note

Introduction

Why This Guide Is For You and

Not About Faculty

Why You Should Expect a Good

Campus Climate as an LGBT Student

Why You Should Know What the

Campus Environment Is Like for Gay,

Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender

Persons Before You Enroll

Small Colleges, Large

Universities, and Their Location:

Which Is Best for You?

Factors Affecting the Campus Climate

for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and

Transgender Persons

Interviewing Colleges and

Universities

Quick Check List for Interviewing Colleges and Universities

Rating the College or University

Hinrichs’ Queer Climate Scale

You Are on Campus—Now What?

Should You Come Out on Campus?

A Note to Bisexuals

Endnotes

APPENDIX 1

Religious Views on Homosexuality

APPENDIX 2

Recommended Books

References

Acknowledgements

I want to acknowledge the role that many people played in my life and thus in the inspiration for this book, and those who helped specifically with this manuscript.

First, I need to acknowledge my parents, Laura Glendora and Raymond W. Hinrichs, who taught me tolerance in the midst of tremendous hostility in society against African Americans, Jews, and of course, homosexual persons. They also provided me with many opportunities they did not have, including the gift of a college education.

I want to thank my children, Terri P. Williams and Ryan Zahn Hinrichs. Their strength and resilience and eventual support when I came out and their mother and I divorced has truly been an inspiration. Their continued love, support and acceptance of my partners has made all the difference.

My former wife, Martha McLaren, deserves both recognition and thanks for her patience and understanding as I struggled for years during our marriage with issues related to my sexual orientation. She encouraged, supported, and participated in months of counseling. She always put family and our children ahead of the hurt I caused when we decided to divorce. She has remained a good friend.

I need to acknowledge my brother, William J. Hinrichs, who struggled with his own sexuality for many years. His support during some dark times in my life and our discussions about issues of sexuality helped clarify my own thinking. His life ended tragically and suddenly in the midst of a crisis over his own sexuality.

It is important for me to remember Robert E. Tarner, my first partner. Bob was tortured his entire life by the rejection of some close family members and by terrible harassment by school peers because he was gay. He found beauty in things but not in himself or his life. He taught me about the terrible intolerance that many LGBT persons endure and the serious consequences that many suffer. His life ended suddenly in despair.

P. M. D’Auria is a friend who first showed me some of the world outside of the USA, and helped me discover things about myself that I did not know.

I want to acknowledge and thank Abdelghani Ben Rafalia, my spouse (in Canada), and friend. He shows me every day the meaning of love and the glories of that wonderful connection that can occur between two persons. He teaches me daily how to live a more healthy and simplistic life.

This book would not have been possible without the moral support of the faculty and staff of Gettysburg College. Also, College grant money helped support my extensive research project on LGBT college and university students in 1995 and the subsequent documentary film, From the Hallowed Halls of Ivy: LGBT Students Speak Out About Their Experiences on Campus.

A few people deserve special recognition for their assistance with this specific project. Anne Marie Cusack, my daughter-in-law, reviewed the text for coherence, clarity, and grammar. VoonChin Phua, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Gettysburg College, provided some helpful suggestions. Pamela J. Rosenberg, a former colleague in the department of Sociology and Anthropology at Gettysburg College, helped to sort, analyze, and interpret the data I collected from LGBT students, and provided considerable insight as I worked on my various projects.

Finally, I want to thank all of the LGBT students who willingly talked to me about their experiences on their college and university campuses and inspired this book, and those students in my Gay and Lesbian Studies class at Gettysburg College, acknowledged in my film, for reviewing this text for content.

Beginning Note

On one episode of the television show, Mash, Hawkeye Pierce quipped,

The Problem is that everyone is looking for a perfect fit in an off-the-rack world.

The world is not perfect for anyone, but it is more imperfect for some than others. Certainly, for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons, the world is far from perfect.