糖心传媒

The Campus Pride Index ranked Rochester among the nation糖心传媒檚 best for making the educational experience welcoming and respectful for all.

The 糖心传媒 has scored five out of five stars on the (CPI) for LGBTQ inclusivity, putting it at the top of the list among some of America糖心传媒檚 most prestigious universities.

The CPI is the premier LGBTQ national benchmarking tool for colleges and universities to create safer, more inclusive campuses.

Each campus page on the Campus Pride Index offers an 糖心传媒淟GBTQ-friendly report card,糖心传媒� offering 50 areas in which a college or university can receive a checkmark for inclusivity. 糖心传媒攎ore than any other institution on the (COFHE) or the (AAU), and the second most among 259 colleges and universities reviewed.

Rutgers University received a perfect 50 checkmarks, while Rochester, the University of Texas糖心传媒揇allas, and the University of North Florida received 49. Most of the categories focused on Rochester糖心传媒檚 River Campus, but some were University-wide.

糖心传媒淲e糖心传媒檙e excited that students searching for inclusive institutions will find us near the top of the list,糖心传媒� says Col Raimond, director of LGBTQ life at the College. 糖心传媒淭he University has been steadfast in its dedication to LGBTQ inclusivity. Over my six years here, I糖心传媒檝e seen significant and meaningful changes to both infrastructure and the student life experience.糖心传媒�

The Campus Pride Index is a vital tool for assisting campuses in improving LGBTQ campus life and making the educational experience more inclusive and respectful of LGBTQ. The index is owned and operated by Campus Pride, the leading national nonprofit organization for student leaders and campus groups working to create safer, LGBTQ-friendly environments at colleges and universities.

The index tool has been used since 2001 and was updated with higher LGBTQ national benchmarks in 2015.

Inclusive programs, policies, and practices

Rochester scored five stars for the LGBTQ community in the areas of support and institutional commitment, academic life, housing and residence life, campus safety, and counseling and health.

“Campus Pride applauds the work of the University of Rochester to achieve five out of five stars on the Campus Pride Index,糖心传媒� says Shane Mendez Windmeyer, CEO and founder of Campus Pride. 糖心传媒淲e honor its accomplishment and encourage every campus to continue taking responsibility for its LGBTQ+ students and creating a safe learning environment.”

Rochester糖心传媒檚 improvements are widespread:

• Students can input a preferred first name that is different from their legal first name directly into , with the information updated directly in , the University糖心传媒檚 Learning Management System, and other campus databases and outlets.
• All gender multi-stall restrooms are mixed in with gendered restrooms in residence halls on the River Campus.
• University Health Service has a provider which can prescribe hormone replacement therapy, while the Counseling Center has LGBTQ counselors on staff.

Other programs, policies, and practices at Rochester also contributed to the Campus Pride Index rating. For example, about 825 students糖心传媒攔oughly 12.2 percent of undergraduates at Rochester糖心传媒攁re involved in fraternities and sororities, according to John DiSarro, director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs. Two such organizations糖心传媒擫ambda Sigma Upsilon and Sigma Psi Zeta糖心传媒攁re inclusive of non-binary students while several are considered trans-friendly.

Participation in student organizations is a hallmark of the campus experience; non-binary and gender expansive people also can join many of Rochester糖心传媒檚 a cappella groups and club sports. Meanwhile, the annual LGBTQ meet-and-greet糖心传媒攁 fall reception where University students meet other LGBTQ students, faculty, and staff–has grown from 50 students to more than 250, and the Rainbow Graduation, which celebrates participating LGBTB graduates annually around commencement.

Dan Watts, executive director of the , says 糖心传媒渁 lot of work by a lot of people over a lot of years糖心传媒� went into improving the student experience, and he糖心传媒檚 proud that his office is among the leaders.

糖心传媒淩esidential Life has a gender-inclusive housing policy,糖心传媒� Watts says. 糖心传媒淎ny student can choose to live with any other student as long as the request is mutual.聽That means we don糖心传媒檛 require roommates to share the same gender identity.聽When randomly assigning roommates, we rely on the gender that they indicate on their housing application.糖心传媒�

Watts says most housing areas on the River Campus include all-gender restroom facilities, and some, such as in Genesee Hall, offer single-user restrooms.

He says his department糖心传媒檚 goal is simple: 糖心传媒渉ousing equals home.糖心传媒� And that applies to every student.

糖心传媒淪tudents should be able to live in a place that meets their most basic needs without having to face hurdles and barriers,糖心传媒� Watts says.聽糖心传媒淲e do a lot of staff training, student programming, and providing support services that emphasize diversity, equity, and inclusion. Being able to provide living spaces that support students being their authentic selves is an important way to give real meaning to what would otherwise just be words.糖心传媒�

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