Pride Alliance commends University for increased recognition

One year after launching a comprehensive "climate assessment survey" to evaluate the atmosphere for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students at the University — and the week after Pride Week — members of the Princeton Pride Alliance say they are pleased with the progress Princeton has made in increasing gay awareness.

Lesbian Gay Bisexual Concerns Coordinator Ryan Foley said two goals emerged from the survey — goals that the Pride Alliance has focused on during the past academic year.

The first goal, he said, was to secure continued support from the University for Pride Alliance activities. Foley said his position was upgraded last year to full-time. "It was a great step for the University to take," Foley said.

The second goal that emerged from survey responses was the idea for a program called the Allied Project. Under the Allied Project, according to Foley, faculty and student allies of the gay community attach small yellow triangles to their doors, offices or workspaces.

"It signifies that the person who has it is an ally of the [gay] community, open and willing to talk about LGBT issues and concerns, and has some sort of understanding of what life is like on campus for LGBT students," Foley said.

Pride Alliance secretary Joey Marie Bramlage '01 said, "The administration is already doing a lot in terms of helping to improve [the LGBT] situation."

"The LGBT peer educators are a very important part of that," she said. "They improve the awareness among freshmen right after they get here and also start discussions among the RA groups about that. That's definitely a big step in the right direction."

Foley said most Princeton residents are accepting of the University's gay population. "I think this is certainly a safe community, certainly a community that values and respects differences. Something I would like to see is more of a visible community," he said. "There's certainly the visibility that comes from the student organization, but it's less common to find a queer space in town."

Pride Alliance treasurer Anne-Marie Barrett '02 said she "hasn't come across any discrimination" here on campus. "Most people are apathetic," she said.

Bramlage said the group has tried to highlight Princeton's best qualities to convince LGBT prospective students not to attend universities such as Harvard, which has a larger gay population than Princeton.

One of the steps taken in this vein was increasing campus awareness of the Pride Alliance by revamping the group's Website, www.princeton.edu/~pride .

"I would say that the Princeton queer community is unique in that it is small and cohesive, and that Princeton offers a wonderful environment for any LGBT student to excel academically and socially," he said.