Here, the Mirror examines LGBT resources at the College and looks at how we stack up in the Ivy League.
STUDENT SPACES
Located on the first floor of Robinson Hall, the Rainbow Room offers a "safer space" amid what can often be a hostile atmosphere at Dartmouth, Kienemund said.
Used for discussion, group meetings and study breaks, the room hosts a small library of LGBT videos and books, and provides educational materials on topics such as gender pronoun use and sexuality.
Kienemund is using student input to re-conceptualize the space. The changes include stocking more recent fiction, expanding the health and wellness section to incorporate a range of safe sex materials, enhancing the room's accessibility and developing a web presence.
The renovation will also ensure that no subset of the LGBT community feels excluded.
"A lot of communities within the larger identity are marginalized, so in order to make this room the most useful it can be, it's not just a question of updating the material but of deliberately choosing material that is gender-inclusive, racially-inclusive and class-inclusive, so that we don't reproduce oppressive structures of the system at large," Kienemund said.
While OPAL has one staff member, two full-time interns and one part-time intern who work with LGBT students, no one officially staffs the Rainbow Room. Cornell University has two staff members and five interns working at their LGBT resource center, while Harvard University's Queer Resource Center employed 12 undergraduate staff members this spring.
Assistant dean and LGBT advisor Reese Kelly is the only College staff member who works specifically with LGBT individuals.
HOUSING
Those who desire a longer-term safe space can visit Triangle House, which will open in fall 2014. The LGBT affinity house, located on 4 North Park St., will offer space to 25 undergraduates and an advisor apartment.
The College currently offers a gender-neutral floor in McLane. Sixteen residents, along with an undergraduate advisor, typically live on the gender-neutral floor and spend most Sunday mornings discussing gender and social issues.
Joseph Miller '14, who lived on the floor his sophomore year and was an undergraduate advisor there this past year, said residents were deeply engaged in topics of gender and sexuality, especially after homophobic graffiti was scrawled on a window in 2011.
Former gender-neutral floor resident Lizzy Southwell '15 said she found the program slightly less serious than expected, though still effective in fostering a safe environment.
"What was most helpful was for people that don't feel that comfortable elsewhere on campus to be somewhere where inclusivity was demanded," she said.
Although the floor attracts some applicants simply due to its prime location, Southwell said the program does an excellent job selecting supportive and open-minded students.
Proponents of the Triangle House, which will offer a more insulated experience than the gender-neutral floor, have attracted negative criticism for self-segregating, Southwell said. She added that she considers self-selection a natural process.
"At the end of the day, we're human and we want to be with people who are like us," she said.
Dartmouth is one of the only Ivy League schools with a structured gender-neutral floor program, which was established in fall 2007.
In 2003, the University of Pennsylvania became the first in the Ivy League to offer gender-neutral suites, and was the first Ivy to offer gender-neutral housing to incoming freshmen, starting last year.
Columbia University offers mixed-gender doubles, and Q House, its residential community for LGBT students, is moving from its current space in a residential hall to a university-owned brownstone this fall. Harvard University only permits gender-neutral housing upon request. In 2010, Yale University seniors received the option to live in mixed-gender suites. Princeton University and Cornell University introduced gender-neutral housing options this year.
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
The College's OUTReach program pairs students with a trained mentor who has experience with the LGBT community and is willing to discuss personal, social and academic issues. Gender Sexuality XYZ offers a weekly forum for students seeking an outlet to share thoughts on LGBT subjects.
Dartmouth IvyQ helps coordinate the annual IvyQ conference, which provides LGBT community across the Ivy League with a chance to share experiences. Dartmouth recently submitted a bid to host the fifth conference next year.
Miller said he would like to see more participation in the existing organizations, a problem that can only be ameliorated by student initiative.
"It's up to students to participate and engage," he said.
Southwell, who said there are not sufficient resources for individuals who choose to keep their sexuality private, suggested a blog or columnist to whom students could anonymously direct questions.
While Dartmouth has three LGBT student organizations, most other Ivy League schools offer at least five undergraduate groups. Many of these organizations are identity-specific. Cornell's Ga'avah group is open to Jewish LGBT students, Penn Ultra produces LGBT art and Girlspot provides Harvard women with an opportunity to discuss sexual orientation. Columbia's Office of Multicultural Affairs works with Proud Colors to host mixers for LGBT students of color, while Brown University offers a support group for LGBT student athletes.
LOOKING FORWARD
While broadening the range of student organizations may boost tolerance at Dartmouth, radically transforming the campus climate can only result from collaboration between members of the LGBT community and students from across campus.
"I think that there's sometimes an assumption that just because most students are integrated in campus, that this is a safe, affirming place for LGBTQ students at all times," Kelly said. "To make the campus a more inclusive space, I think it's important to acknowledge that there is an inequity across campus and to make a commitment toward changing that."
Though the College appears to lag behind in mentoring programs, student organizations and staff dedicated specifically to LGBT needs, Dartmouth is moving forward by providing gender-neutral housing with the affinity program in McLane residence hall and by developing Triangle House.
