Different Perspectives on the Campus Environment

I opened our college newspaper the other day and was pleased to see two GLBT articles on the front page. The first covered a panel discussion that took place the week before, which included a transsexual lawyer who works locally and nationally with sexual minority issues; the founder of a local community housing project for gay seniors; and Colonel Grethe Camemeyer, whose story of serving in the American military is well-known by all. The next article discussed the college's GLBT student group, the Triangle Club, its new leadership and subsequent increase in membership. Both articles confirmed what I had always believed about our institution: Seattle Central invites and nurtures diversity. And not just at the college: Seattle as a whole provides an environment where GLBT students can find support and acceptance within the community.

So went my musings when two incidents jiggled the perfect rainbow image of my college. No major crises, no great confrontations, only subtle reminders of how the students I am here to serve may not feel the same way about our campus as I do.

The first happened while I was meeting friends at a bar a few weekends ago. I noticed one of our international students from Britain talking to a young woman, presumably another student. I went over to say 'hello' and realized that she was also a Seattle Central international student, from Taiwan. We talked for a while about school and other things. She finally confided in me on how relieved she was to have found another gay international student at the college that could relate to her circumstances. What an odd thing to say, I thought, considering how many gay students, staff and faculty members there are. Still, I understood. English was not her first language, and she dealt with the same difficulties of meeting American students that most other int ernational students do. But as the conversation ensued I was surprised to know that the British student was also very relieved to meet another gay international student he could talk to. His circumstances were quite different: his partner is a permanent resident and sponsored him to study in Seattle. Through him the student was connected to many different parts of the GLBT community. And despite that extra support, he still felt adrift in the college. My assumption that GLBT international students would easily find connections at the college proved untrue.

In the second situation, an instructor at our college came to me about a student, a man from Taiwan, whom he suspected was gay. He related this story: The instructor was facilitating a discussion in an ESL class – of which the Taiwanese student was a member–which gradually drifted to the topic of homosexual life. One of his student very fervently argued that the homosexual lifestyle was disgusting. He referred to gays as "sick", "in need of help" and "unnatural". The teacher came forward and said "I'm sorry, we do not speak that way in the classroom. I am a gay man and I do not consider that appropriate." The student recanted a bit and the discussion moved to other issues. Later, the instructor was riding the bus with the Taiwanese student. As he was getting off the bus, the student told the instructor that it was a very brave thing he did to confront the student in that way. The instructor explained that it was his obligation to speak out and try to change those attitudes. The student said, "I hope I will have that same courage myself someday."

I began to realize how mixed a message our international students were receiving at the college. On one side is an expanding GLBT student group and panels with prominent members of the GLBT community; on the other are fellow students firing angry homo phobic epithets in class. Even the British student who has a personal network of his own was uncertain enough about the attitudes of his peers, advisors and instructors to disclose his sexuality.

And yet there was reason to hope. The Taiwanese woman was very encouraged to hear about the GLBT group on campus, and to learn that I was available to help her if she needed it. The ESL instructor, by deflecting the negative comments of one student, had likely allowed another student to feel more secure in his surroundings.

As luck would have it, I read Nadine Kato’s excellent article in the International Educator "Working with Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual International Students", which outlines the most prominent issues confronting GLBT internati onal students studying in the United States. She discusses their special needs, cultural and family issues, and the networks of support that most students rely on. Most importantly, though, she discusses how we as advisors can begin to create a supportive environment for our GLBT international students.

These two incidents and the information in Nadine's article made me realize that the mere fact of studying at a liberal campus may not put a GLBT international student at ease. I have begun to reexamine what role I as an advisor can play in bridging t he gap between the resources available in the college community and the GLBT international students we serve. The Denver conference ought to provide several opportunities for all of us to share information and ideas. Three GLBT sessions are planned (some of them Best of Region, I have heard), in addition to our annual meeting and a reception (location to be announced). Peter Voeller, SIG member and former chair, also suggested that we try a State of the Union address for the newsletter, but this could be a good subject for our meeting or informally at the reception, or even on the Rainbow list serve, where we share what GLBT special achievements, events or programs are going on at our campuses, particularly those which relate to our international st udents. By learning from each other, we can go far to enrich the experiences of our GLBT students in the United States.