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In this higher ed careers interview, the founder/executive director of Campus Pride discusses the challenges LGBTQ+ students face today, particularly anti-LGBTQ legislation, and shares how colleges and universities can evaluate and improve their campus climate.
Kelly Cherwin: Please tell us about your current position as founder/executive director of Campus Pride and what led to this path related to higher education?
Shane Mendez Windmeyer: Campus Pride began in 2001 as an online community and resource clearinghouse called CampusPride.Net and was created by M. Chad Wilson, Sarah E. Holmes, and me. In 2006, I launched Campus Pride as a non-profit organization. Since then, I have been the executive director of this organization, which has become the leading national organization for student leaders and campus groups working to create a safer college environment for LGBTQ students.
My personal experience of college was transformative in terms of my identity. Before I arrived at Emporia State University, I didn’t have words for my own identity — mainly because everything I had learned about being gay was very negative and biased. In college, I met people who were out and proud. That allowed me to start coming out to myself and to believe that I could be proud of who I was. That experience made me aware of how critical those college years are for LGBTQ+ people.
Back then, no one was really serving college students on a national level. I knew there was a need for an organization like Campus Pride, and I felt passionate about fostering the kind of campus culture that would support and encourage LGBTQ+ students. By that point, I had gotten a master’s in higher education and student affairs, and in 1995, I had started an organization called the Lambda 10 Project, which was a fraternity and sorority outreach initiative. Lambda 10 was the first signature project of what would become Campus Pride.
Cherwin: As colleges and universities gear up for the 2023-24 academic year, how can they evaluate their campus in regard to inclusivity and safety for the LGBTQ+ community?
Windmeyer: The best way for colleges and universities to assess their campuses is to register with the Campus Pride Index. The index is a benchmarking tool that has a dual function: it helps institutions of higher education self-evaluate their campuses and programs and, in doing so, it results in a ranked list that prospective students and families can use to make informed choices about which schools are right for them. Currently, more than 400 colleges and universities are listed on the index — and it receives an average of 40,000 site visitors each month. The Campus Pride Index has been around since 2007, and over the years, we’ve learned that when a college or university joins the Campus Pride Index, 80% of the colleges year to year improve in at least one area by the time it is re-evaluated. We believe the self-evaluation inspires campuses to improve and gives them actionable information about how to do that.
We also recently learned that prioritizing LGBTQ inclusion and safety can have additional unexpected benefits. This spring, findings from the Student Health Adjustment & Relationship Experiences (SHARE) study — which involved more than 11,000 students and 4,000 faculty, staff, and administrators at 18 public universities in the U.S. — indicated that higher Campus Pride Index ratings were linked to lower risk factors for intimate partner violence (IPV) among LGBQ+ students.
Cherwin: On your website, it says that “Campus Pride gives voice and action to LGBTQ+ and allied student leaders to create positive change.” For readers unfamiliar with your organization, can you talk about some of the concrete, tangible ways that Campus Pride supports LGBTQ+ students?
Windmeyer: Some of the key programs at Campus Pride include the Camp Pride LGBTQ+ Student Leadership Program, a five-day in-person event where students build leadership capacity and network with peers from across the country; the LGBTQ National Scholarship Database, which can help students find funding for education; Career Connect, which connects LGBTQ+ students with workplace opportunities and mentors; Social Justice Mini-Grants for Activism, which support LGBTQ young adult activism; the Trans Policy Clearinghouse and other resources on our website; and, of course, the Campus Pride Index, which helps prospective students make informed choices about colleges.
We also have programs to support those who support the students, like our Camp Pride Advisor Academy for advisors, faculty/staff, and other professionals working with LGBTQ+ college students, and our Safe Space and Stop the Hate trainings, which can be brought to campuses anywhere in the U.S.
Cherwin: The student documentary “The Rising Tide: LGBTQ+ in 2023” focuses on the anti-LGBTQ+ bills recently introduced that are impacting this community. How can faculty, staff, and leaders on campus support students as they deal with this “sociopolitical stress” (a term introduced by Lindsay Till Hoyt, Ph.D. and colleagues)?
Windmeyer: First and foremost, it’s important to realize that the sociopolitical stress LGBTQ+ students are facing right now is specific to them and their identities. We know from a 2020 survey by the Association of American Universities that 17% of today’s college students identify as LGBTQ — that’s nearly one-fifth of students at every college and university. I say the stress they are under is specific because LGBTQ+ people — and especially LGBTQ+ young people — are currently targeted by an unprecedented legislative attack. The ACLU has been tracking 491 anti-LGBTQ bills in 49 states during this legislative session. Trans rights, in particular, have been the focus of many proposed laws, with some states attempting to limit or terminate trans-related medical care for children and adults and requiring people to use the restroom that matches their sex assigned at birth, which puts many trans people in the position of having to choose legal jeopardy or physical risk just to use the bathroom.
Because our world is so connected now, even in states that are considered “safe” from these types of laws, students are aware, distressed, and fearful. This has a ripple effect, as any major stressor does, so that students may experience sleep disruption, poor health, inability to concentrate, perhaps increased use of alcohol and other substances. The Trevor Project’s 2023 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People found that 41% of LGBTQ young people surveyed had seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year. Even if your only concern is the educational outcome — and hopefully that’s not your only concern — these are far from ideal circumstances for these students.
One way to think about it might be: if you have a class in which at least 17% of the students are coming from a war zone, or experiencing homelessness, or living in a home with domestic violence, what would your expectations be? What supports would you offer? And would you take steps to reduce those harmful circumstances, even though they are technically happening outside of the campus?
Cherwin: What have you learned over the years that you would most like to share with higher education professionals working in LGBTQ+ resource centers or the diversity, equity, and inclusion department on campus?
Windmeyer: The time to act is now. We have to get top-level administrators to see the importance of being proactive. Gen Z young people will go to colleges that are LGBTQ+ inclusive. They will not tolerate those that don’t have LGBTQ+ services or don’t take responsibility for a safe learning environment for everyone. Colleges and universities must take the next step towards supporting and affirming LGBTQ+ people — both students and faculty/staff — on their campuses. What we know from the Campus Pride Index is that doing an unflinching self-evaluation sets the stage for identifying the next right step. It doesn’t mean changing everything overnight — that’s not possible, even with the best policies, because changing the culture of the campus takes some time. But you have to begin the journey of change now. Inaction is no longer an option. Each small change leaves you in a better position for the next change. It’s really about moving the needle forward consistently and building trust with students and the campus community that the needle will continue to move.
Cherwin: What keeps you engaged in this line of work?
Windmeyer: Campus Pride is a very adaptive, dynamic organization — we’re always looking at what is changing, what the current needs are, and where we need to put our energy. That means I’m always learning about what students are experiencing and thinking about how we can help. So often — especially when there is an anti-LGBTQ climate, as there is currently in many places — people feel helpless and aren’t sure what to do. At Campus Pride, we’re very fortunate to know that we have tools and resources that actually make a difference and that we are in a position to offer help at a time when it’s truly needed.