FRIENDLY CONFINES?

Less than 10 years ago, the Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Life consisted of just two tiny offices tucked away in the Page Building.

Today, the center is an official yet casual gathering place for LGBT students and allies alike, hosting weekly public parties for an average of 35 people and film presentations for more than 500.

The center's growing popularity, however, far from eliminates the fear many Duke students face in coming out, said Janie Long, director of the LGBT Center.

"The general perception is that Duke is not such a friendly place [for LGBT life]," Long said.

How friendly?

A majority of students interviewed for this story said the atmosphere on campus has for years been unsupportive and sometimes even antagonistic, but many noted that LGBT acceptance is improving.

"There aren't a lot of outright hate comments here, but there are definitely students who are made uncomfortable by the fact that there is an LGBT community here," sophomore Chantel Liggett said. "A lot of students that could be considered LGBT aren't out when they come to Duke, so their peers won't judge them when they do come out."

In particular, LGBT students participating in Greek life may feel pressure to hide their sexual identities.

Shane Windmeyer, author of "The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students," said campuses with a longer history of Greek life-like Duke-tend to have more difficulty accepting LGBT students than campuses with newer communities.

"The Greek community in general tends to have more of the conservative qualities of the overall campus," he said. "Many of the issues related to homophobia or sexism happen more often in an all-male organization than in a coed environment."

Altemose recalled an openly gay prospective student recruited for the Angier B. Duke scholarship last Spring, who ultimately decided to attend Harvard University. The student perceived Harvard as a much more embracing environment, where gay students hold hands and walk together on campus.

"At Duke, I've seen that once-and that was at Whole Foods," Altemose said.

He noted that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has an active gay community. For 2008, UNC's summer reading book-"Covering"-was about a gay Japanese immigrant, and prospective students can request an LGBT tour guide who can introduce them to life at UNC.

Deb Kinney, a specialist in information technology at the School of Law, heads a listserv for approximately 90 LGBT employees and allies and said issues are not limited to the undergraduate community.

"We have some people on the list who work in the Medical Center, and I know that many of them are closeted because the environment over there is not as open as we would like," she said. "It's very department-specific as to how open one can be."

Misleading rankings

Despite the discomfort many LGBT students who are out have reported facing on campus, Duke appeared in "The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students" as one of the country's 20 "best campuses" for LGBT students in 2006, actually to the chagrin of a number of students and faculty members.

"People were like, 'how could this be?'" Long said.

Windmeyer, who compiled the rankings and is a national champion for LGBT issues on college campuses, said the rankings were determined by a campus's foundation of policies, programs and practices that "allow it to have an LGBT affirming experience." The rankings also looked at whether or not the campus had a dedicated office or multicultural staff member who has dedicated time to LGBT issues.

But Long as well as LGBT center directors at other universities that made the top 20 were skeptical. After some investigation, the group of directors discovered that Windmeyer, preferenced schools where he had "buddies" who gave surveys to selected students, Long said.

"[The results] distort the atmosphere on campus for LGBT faculty and staff," she said. "My days of celebration did not last long."

Windmeyer said the book was a commercial effort-rather than a research instrument-that examined which campuses have stood out in their regions for being LGBT-friendly, noting that Duke has done more than most institutions in the Southeast.

"There's a huge difference between having those [programs] in place and whether the faculty feels they are LGBT-friendly," he said. "Some campuses have a nondiscrimination policy, but they don't know how to implement it."

Still, Long said the results led LGBT-friendly students, faculty and staff to falsely believe their efforts had gained national recognition, which could be problematic if it stifles further effort to garner additional University support.

The center's long arm

Long, who counsels an average of eight students a week, said the LGBT Center supports undergraduate groups AQUADuke, DukeAllies and Blue Devils United, as well as graduate groups including DukeOUT, Sacred Worth-the Divinity School's group-and organizations for LGBT law and business students. The center is also supporting a group exclusively for lesbians and bisexual females to provide support for women students who often visit a male-dominated LGBT Center.

"We have a student advisory board, students who coordinate Fabulous Fridays and responsible student workers," she said. "Students are a very central part of [the center]. We support both undergraduate and graduate student groups by acting as advisors and providing them with financial and spacial support."

Liggett, a member of the as-yet unnamed LB group, said it was primarily created to foster community building among non-straight women. The group has had 15 to 20 attendants so far in its two meetings.

"There have always seemed to be more guys in the center," she said. "We might have some meetings to talk about political issues for LB women."

Liggett added that some of the issues facing gay women and gay males are different, and the group would be exclusively for women. She also acknowledged that LGBT acceptance at Duke is on the rise with increased visibility, the impact the center has on the community and the creation of the Study of Sexualities certificate program.

There is also a certain bond among LGBT Center faculty and staff, who can gather in social events at the center and participate together in events such as the North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.