JMU ranks low on LGBT campus pride

The Campus Pride Index, published by non-profit organization Campus Pride, recently ranked JMU with 2.5/5 stars for it’s LGBT programs, practices, policies, and campus learning environments. Out of the Virginia universities listed on the site, JMU comes in last place. JMU lacks things like staff training opportunities on sexual orientation issues, gender-inclusive housing for new students, and active ongoing training for hate crime prevention.

For some LGBTQ+ students, this ranking does not surprise them.  According to Mo Easton, a gender-fluid sophomore, “we don’t have a lot of inclusivity in [things] like insurance policies for one, easy access to restrooms for trans persons, and we don’t have scholarships and such for LGBT people”. She went on to add that “the applications that ask [for] gender and sexual orientation are very binary and generic. There should be an ‘other’ option at the very least”.

For other LGBTQ+ students, they feel this ranking does not reflect how they feel about their school. Eva Mitchell, a pansexual sophomore, believes “the report card includes a lot of stuff that JMU should not have to be responsible for (e.g. providing hormones for trans individual), it forgets to include certain things like our organization [Madison Equality], and it has stuff on it that is no longer along the lines of equality, but more along the lines of just straight up accommodation, like LGBTQ+ housing. I think that a roommate matching question on the form about LGBTQ+ friendliness would be appropriate, but going as far as giving the gays their own dorm is a little too far.”

Nonetheless, there are improvements that can be made to better LGBTQ+ lives at JMU. Tristin Tran, a bisexual junior,  wants “to bring [the conversation of LGBTQ+ issues] to the faculty and staff’s attention that a lot of students face discrimination [even] in the smallest ways. That’s where policy change happens and actions lead.” Mo said she “would like to be able to easily change [her] gender and [her] name on school documents as well as be able to have more faculty be trained on inclusivity and neutral language, especially police.”

Shane Van Hoy, the president of Madison Equality, the on-campus LGBTQ+ organization, said “as president I can influence and advocate policy on campus by being able to reach out to faculty and staff to be more inclusive minded. One person can make a difference if they truly do speak up for what is right.” The power to change school policy is truly in the hands of the students themselves.

Hopefully in the near future, this ranking will improve as the inclusivity and policies of LGBTQ+ students at JMU improve as well.