5 tips for LGBT students

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It’s that time of year when the summer holidays end and everyone goes back to school. For many of us this means that it’s time for new starts and new experiences. This week at my university all the new students are arriving and beginning to settle in, and I’m sure this is the same for students across the country, and maybe even across the world. Going somewhere new can be incredibly daunting, perhaps even more so for LGBT students, but it can also be exciting, and has the potential to be an important and affirming experience. With all that in mind, I would like to share with you some of my tips for LGBT students going into higher education.

They Found Out

Yeah, so I made these. Glad I can wear these all the time now.

Ladies, gentlemen, variations thereof and none of the above, you are probably wondering where I've been these past few weeks. You must have been frustrated, enraged, cursing my pretty face as you mash the refresh button, praying for a new post from me. I can hardly forgive myself for keeping you in such a state, dear readers. So let me tell you why I've been so long away.

They found out.

Holiday Edition!

Ladies, gentlemen, variations thereof and none of the above, I come to you refreshed from a strange American ritual celebrating the decimation of native peoples and the national vice of gluttony. Thanksgiving is seen among my people as all of these things and more. It’s a week off of school. It’s passing out from a food coma. It’s giving thanks that Native Americans were the victims of mass genocide by white settlers, allowing the United States of America to be. But above all things, it’s time for the awkward and forced interaction between people who share little more than a few more gene sequences than the mean. Yes, Thanksgiving is family time. But many of us in the LGBT community don’t have family to speak of. How do we celebrate the holidays?

Queer U: Gettin' Some Schoolin'

Ah, the rigorous intellectual life that college fosters.

Ladies, gentlemen, variations thereof, and none of the above, it's that time of year again. Parents are looking worriedly at their bank accounts, students everywhere sport the thousand-league stare of a soul that has endured too much, and high school  teachers across the nation avoid with the gaze of the hunted any slacker who so much as breathes the words "letter of recommendation". Yes everyone, it is time for high school seniors to apply to college. Of course, the process comes with its own little problems to those in the queer community, but the rewards (bi-curious coeds,   more alcohol than can be fully comprehended, no parents) are sweet indeed, and I shall be your intrepid guide through the trials that await.

What I learnt about Gay Bars

As someone who only came to accept their sexuality a little under a year and a half ago, and who spent the very vast majority of their childhood in an Irish Catholic elementary school and going to Church every Sunday, I did have a lot of misconceptions gay people and their lifestyles. I had, until recently, misconceptions about all kinds of gender- and sexuality-related topics, from the explanation of the term transgender, to the degenerate image of gay people I had in my head.

Now that I have been accepting of my sexuality for a year or so, I've been growing more comfortable with myself, I've had substantial amounts of interaction with the QUILTBAG community and learnt so much, and as it turns out I'm still learning how wrong everything I "knew" was.

Last week I had my first clubbing experience in a gay bar. I was a little hesitant about going, and here's why.

Rights or Religion?

Within the past month in New Zealand there has been a lot of media hype regarding the passing of the Marriage Equality Bill that aims to redefine marriage as something other than an exclusive bond between man and woman. However, despite the generally strong support for this, some individuals maintain opposition to this amendment and, if able, punish those that support this movement. The most publicised occurrence of this was the suspension and subsequent sacking of my old chemistry teacher from his position because he supported students who wished to stage a silent protest against the remarks made by the principal in the school newsletter.

Back to school

Many LGBT students dread going back to school.

Thursday was our university's freshman party, and it just made me think a lot about how much I have changed since I was in high school. I seem far more enthusiastic to just go up and approach people, make friends, talk to others, be myself. I feel a lot more confident, determined, my goals seem a lot clearer. I know I've changed a lot, but I just can't pin down what happened. Have I simply matured so much since high school? Are the people really so different here? A little bit of both, maybe? I finished high school in 2010, so, obviously, I took a little break from public education, but can a person really grow up and change so much in a just a couple of years? Anyways, this Monday I'd like to think about this (surprisingly) pleasant week I had in university, and how it made me think about all the bad experiences I had with public education. I'd like to reflect on the good choices I think I made that helped me get here, and the things that stopped me from achieving my goals.

Chick-fil-A's Anti-Gay, or, Why You Shouldn't Keep Your Eyes Glued to Facebook

Okay, for those of us located in the United States, we've heard of the controversy about Chick-fil-a and it's (unsurprising) stance on gay marriage. Let me back up. We've heard about Truett Cathy's (the owner) stance on gay marriage, and thus, his company's. This hasn't been a secret, though. They've been doing this for years. I'm talking...YEARS.

Let me offer those of us who aren't on US soil some background. Chick-fil-a is a Christian-owned and operated restaurant chain that is closed on Sundays to allow their employees to go to church. They donate millions and millions of dollars to Berry College, a local university in my hometown of Rome, GA. They also donate a chunk of their funds to several fundamentalist Christian groups who don't believe in same-sex marriage. This has never been a secret. Like, ever. 

The LGBT Dorming Dilemma

Just the other day, I had received a question from someone regarding their worries for the upcoming school year. She introduced herself as an incoming freshman at some college in the Midwest and began to describe to me her dilemma in regards to her future roommates:

"I'm unsure as to whether or not I should come out to my roommate because if I do, I don't want them to think I might try to come onto them or something."