A 'LIBERAL HAVEN'

Several students who openly identify as BGLTQ said that they come from towns that are not as accepting of their sexual orientations as Harvard is, and the Class of 2016 is no different. They said that the environment on campus, however, is particularly conducive to coming out.

“I come from this place in Minnesota called Savage—I kid you not,” Weiers said. “There are a lot of evangelical Christians in the area, and there’s a lot of hatred when it comes to LGBTQ people.”

In comparison, Weiers and others refer to Boston—and particularly Harvard—as a “liberal haven.” Students said they find the campus to be generally very respectful.

“I got here and I suddenly felt very free,” said Indiana T. Seresin ’15, who grew up in London. “Acceptance just wasn’t there at my high school, but I’m comfortable now that I’m here.”

For Gabriel H. Bayard ’15, joining the First-Year Urban Program helped him realize how many BGLTQ students there were on campus.

“A large number of the FUP leaders in my year and this year were BGLTQ students,” said Bayard, who returned to FUP this year as a leader himself. “I remember going to a panel to talk about BGLTQ issues and at least half of the FUP leaders were leading the panel.”

Daniel, a current freshman whose name has been changed because his parents do not know that he is gay, said he felt that FUP made queer identity part of a larger conversation.

“Even students who were straight were sharing stories of how they discovered they were straight and came out,” he said. “It really made me feel like I was no different and that I was part of the larger community.”

HOT SPOTS

The Class of 2016 comes to Harvard at the same time as Harvard’s first-ever paid director of BGLTQ student life, who heads the office for BGLTQ students that opened in March.

“The creation of a centralized office is a big deal,” freshman proctor Joseph J. Vitti ’10 said. “It sends the message that there is a community here for you, even if there may be people who don’t accept you.”

Laura V. Herrera ’13, co-chair of Gay, Lesbians, Or, Whatever, said that the office can act as a unifying space for BGLTQ life on campus, something she had felt was missing.

“I never felt part of the BGLTQ community as understood by the QSA,” she said. “QSA membership was primarily made up of middle-class white males and never actively tried to reach out to queer students of color. I think we are divided.”

Some students like Herrera have left QSA for more specific BGLTQ groups like GLOW, for students of color; the Trans Task Force, for students who identify as transgender; and BAGELS, for queer students who are Jewish.