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LGBTQ climate at CSULB to be reassessed

In an effort to promote commitment to LGBTQ inclusion on college campuses, non-profit organization Campus Pride is launching an index for sports.

Schools are evaluated annually on more than 50 self-assessment questions. Once the assessments are concluded, schools receive a 14-page report containing results and recommendations to help create an action plan to improve their LGBTQ campus climate, Rebby Kern, the media, communication and programs manager for Campus Pride, said.

California State University, Long Beach has a Campus Pride score of four out of five stars that will most likely be diminishing because of the new indexes, Associated Students Inc. Sen. Kelsey Reyes said.

“We’re reputable in being LGBT friendly as a university and our community,” Reyes said. “So it would be unfortunate to have our school score go down, when in reality we are LGBT friendly.”

ASI is in the beginning stages of trying to figure out a resolution to help improve that score, Reyes said. CSULB raised its score from 2.5 stars in 2013, to four stars in 2014.

“We can’t expect LGBTQ students to come out on campus if their campuses aren’t coming out as LGBTQ friendly,” Kern said.

The Campus Pride Athlete Report found that one in four LGBTQ student-athletes in the United States are pressured to remain silent about their sexual identity. It also found that 21 percent of those students are targets of derogatory remarks through electronic media, which is nearly double the amount made towards heterosexual athletes.

ASI will be working with the Department of Athletics and the Office of Equity and Diversity to help ensure that non-discrimination policies are followed, Reyes said.

The Campus Pride Sports Index will function in just the same way the Campus Pride Index does by releasing a national standard of LGBTQ inclusive policies, programs and practices. It will be specifically geared toward intercollegiate athletics, campus recreation and sports departments, Kern said.

“Our primary concern is that we want LGBTQ students to succeed,” Kern said. “[Which will be done by] continuing conversation across campus, across departments and really bridging gaps between campuses and really making an institutional commitment to inclusion.”

The Sports Index would measure LGBTQ policy inclusion, student life, training and education, safety and support and commitment on a five-star scale.

The new assessments would give colleges “a higher benchmark to achieve greater inclusion,” Kern said.

Some LGBTQ students on campus said they believe a larger presence of acceptance on campus would be beneficial to CSULB because it would spread awareness and tolerance.

“As humans, we shut people out because we don’t understand them,” junior communications major Megan McKibban said. “Education and bigger representation would create a positive environment for everyone.”

Senior journalism major David Espindola, who said he identifies with the LGBTQ community, said he has learned to teach the positives through the resources made available to them on campus.

“Coming into this university, where I’m exposed to new ideas and new ways of thinking, it kind of helped me grow as a person,” Espindola said. “It also helped me understand, not just myself, but other walks of life.”

Freshman biology major Josh Avellan said he would still find CSULB LGBTQ-friendly, even with a lower score.

“People, mostly in Southern California are pretty accepting of everything because it’s such a multicultural area,” Avellan said.

One Comment

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    The only time I feel unwelcome as a G student is when the preachers come to yell at people on the lawn. Aside from that, everyone I’ve met at CSULB has been pretty open and friendly. I guess that’s where CSULB is missing that 1 star to make it 5.

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