Highlighted News Stories Related to Higher Education and LGBTQI+ - NMU Allies

• Survey: College Students Impacted by Anti-LGBTQ+ Policies
  A new analysis from the Trevor Project found connections between students who reported their institution had policies that didn’t support LGBTQ+ students and poor mental health as well as negative experiences at their school.

August 27, 2024

"Anti-LGBTQ+ school policies, in addition to harming students’ feelings of belonging at their institution, may also have consequences for students’ mental health, according to new research from the Trevor Project."

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/student-success/health-wellness/2024/08/27/how-institutional-practices-can-impact-lgbtq

• In states with laws targeting LGBTQ issues, school hate crimes quadrupled

March 12, 2024 

"Overall, there were an average of 108 anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes at schools reported to the FBI per year from 2015 to 2019 on both college and K-12 campuses. In 2021 and 2022, the most recent for which data were available, the average more than doubled to 232. (The number of reported hate crimes overall dropped in 2020, when the covid-19 pandemic shut down many school campuses, forcing learning online.)"

More at The Washington Post at www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/03/12/school-lgbtq-hate-crimes-incidents/ (or via gift link at https://wapo.st/3IwEzCv) 

• Hate Crimes Reported in Schools Nearly Doubled Between 2018 and 2022
  Black students were the most frequent reported victims, followed by L.G.B.T.Q. and Jewish students, according to F.B.I. statistics.

January 29, 2024

"Black Americans were the most frequent victims, with a total of 1,690 hate crime offenses against them reported over the five-year period, followed by L.G.B.T.Q. people with 900 offenses; Jewish Americans were third, with 745 reported offenses."

More at The New York Times at www.nytimes.com/2024/01/29/us/hate-crimes-schools-universities.html

• College Counseling Centers Need to Be Aware of Mental-Health Concerns Due to Discrimination, Report Says

January 26, 2024

"Students of color, LGBT students, and students from other underrepresented groups who say they’ve experienced discrimination have more severe mental-health symptoms than their peers, according to a new report."

More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/college-counseling-centers-need-to-be-aware-of-mental-health-concerns-due-to-discrimination-report-says

See also:

The 2023 Center for Collegiate Mental Health Annual Report and reports from previous years can be found here: https://ccmh.psu.edu/annual-reports

• Police say the stabbings of three people during a gender class in Canada were motivated by hate

June 28, 2023

"Waterloo Police Chief Mark Crowell said the suspect, who had been interviewed by police, wanted to make a 'statement' about gender identity, and that he had asked the professor to verify that the class was about gender studies before attacking."

More at AP at https://apnews.com/article/university-stabbing-canada-waterloo-2b32c876596c576bb3093c147eb856a3

• All the Lonely Students: In promoting social connection on campus, colleges should not ignore these six insights from research, Dave Smallen writes.

June 22, 2023

"An advisory released last month by U.S. surgeon general Dr. Vivek Murthy offers an overview of both the current epidemic of loneliness and the scientific consensus that feeling socially connected matters for mental and even physiological well-being. Issues around social connectedness are especially relevant for student health on college campuses, as year after year a major annual survey finds that a majority of college students experience loneliness, with transgender/gender-nonconforming students being especially impacted."

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2023/06/22/research-insights-promoting-social-connections-opinion

• Academic Success Tip: Promote LGBTQ+ Safety and Inclusion in the Field: A paper led by an Earlham College professor of biology and environmental sustainability offers best practices in LGBTQ+ inclusion in field science work.

April 25, 2023

"A diverse group of scholars—including those who are nonbinary, trans, lesbian, gay and bisexual—who have experienced life as queer people in rural areas conducting remote fieldwork co-authored a paper on inclusion practices in their work."

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/student-success/academic-life/2023/04/25/academic-success-tip-promote-lgbtq-safety-and

• A Matter of (Teaching) Style: Active Learning and Student Identities: Students in our Student Voice survey cite teaching style as a major barrier to academic success. Research suggests active learning as a solution, but experts on pedagogy and identity offer caveats for instructors looking to mix up their approaches.

April 5, 2023

"Different demographic, similar story: Relatively more LGBTQIA+ students (n=899) cite teaching style as a barrier to academic success than do their straight peers, at 60 percent versus 53 percent, respectively. And LGBTQIA+ students are likelier to say they want professors to be more flexible with participation and attendance, at five in 10 versus four in 10.

"Another consideration is mental health. Both LGBTQIA+ students and those with learning disabilities and related conditions are likelier than other subgroups to cite mental health struggles as a barrier to academic success: nearly six in 10 LGBTQIA+ students compared to three in 10 straight students and nearly six in 10 students with learning disabilities compared to three in 10 respondents without such conditions."

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/2023/04/05/what-know-about-active-learning-and-college-student-identities

• Everyone Is Talking About 'Belonging': What does it really mean?

February 13, 2023

"While the need to belong transcends categories such as race, sexual orientation, social class, and ability status, students in underrepresented or marginalized identity groups are more likely to arrive on campus already wondering if they belong there."

More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/everyone-is-talking-about-belonging

• Many LGBTQ+ college students feel the weight of a national pile-up of negativity: Queer and transgender college students struggle to cope with anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, rhetoric and violence

December 9, 2022

"Though few pieces of legislation and acts of violence targeted higher education directly, experts say LGBTQ+ college students are suffering from the national pile-up of negativity. "

More at The Hechinger Report at https://hechingerreport.org/many-lgbtq-college-students-feel-the-weight-of-a-national-pile-up-of-negativity/

• LGBTQ students with campus mental health services have lower suicide attempt rates, survey finds

September 29, 2022

"LGBTQ students with access to mental health services through their colleges were 84% less likely to attempt suicide in the past year than their counterparts that went without. "

More at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/lgbtq-students-with-campus-mental-health-services-have-lower-suicide-attemp/633019/

• Why this Florida school literally threw LGBTQ-friendly books into a dumpster
  The public university, now run by right-wing culture warriors, is continuing a tradition of taking away books for the supposed good of the people.

August 19, 2024

"On a quiet Tuesday afternoon in August, just a week before students were due to return to campus, the administration of New College of Florida emptied the library of the college’s Gender and Diversity Center by putting those books in a dumpster. They were joined shortly afterward by books from the main library, most on topics related to religion and LGBTQ+ issues."

More at CNBC at www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/florida-new-college-book-ban-lgbtq-gender-studies-rcna166845 (See also related stories on the main news page.)

• GOP lawmakers raise pressure on Education Department after Chevron decision
  In a letter to the agency, Reps. Virginia Foxx and James Comer said they will ensure adherence to the Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision.

July 12, 2024

"The letter cited the department’s recent Title IX rule protecting LGBTQ+ students as an example of the agency overstepping its authority and inquired into whether the department will 'pause or stop any existing rulemaking activities in light of the Court’s decision.'”

More at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/congress-education-department-inquiry-chevron-doctrine/721294/

See also:

Education Department could face ‘stronger and new challenges’ post-Chevron, Moody’s says
The credit ratings agency flagged several regulations that could fall under threat, including the new gainful employment and Title IX rules.

July 11, 2024

at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/education-department-regulations-chevron-doctrine/721158/

• The New Anti-DEI Bureaucracy

June 21, 2024

DEI critics say efforts like diversity training, diversity statements, employing DEI officers, and explicitly recruiting and hiring people based on their race, gender, or sexual orientation discriminate against white people, are expensive and ineffective, and diminish free inquiry. They also argue faculty are indoctrinating students with liberal ideology.

More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/the-new-anti-dei-bureaucracy

• AAUP calls out think tanks for ‘culture war against higher education’
  More than 150 bills have been introduced targeting DEI efforts, tenure and the teaching of “divisive concepts,” according to the faculty association.

May 30, 2024

"The AAUP report, authored by Isaac Kamola, director of the organization’s Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom, traces the legislation to a backlash against progressive social movements, including Black Lives Matter and those pushing for LGBTQ+ rights."

More at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/aaup-culture-war-higher-ed-report-DEI-critical-race-theory-bills/717559/

• UNC-Chapel Hill Shifts $2.3M From DEI to Police, Public Safety

May 14, 2024

"The Raleigh News & Observer, which reported earlier on the DEI defunding, noted that the Board of Governors that leads the larger UNC System is voting next week on restricting DEI statewide. The newspaper reported that, in the 2021–22 fiscal year, half of the $2.3 million in Chapel Hill’s DEI budget was spent on personnel, 'with positions ranging from a chief diversity officer, to the director of the campus LGBTQ center, to the director of rural initiatives at the university’s School of Medicine, among others.'”

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2024/05/14/chapel-hill-shifts-23m-dei-police-public-safety

• America has legislated itself into competing red, blue versions of education

April 4, 2024

"Of the expansive laws and policies The Post analyzed, the majority — 69 percent — require or expand education on race or racial issues, especially on Black history and ethnic studies. About a quarter add or enhance education on both LGBTQ and racial issues. Just 8 percent focus solely on LGBTQ lives and topics."

More at The Washington Post at www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/04/04/education-laws-red-blue-divide/

• Democrats Make Their Case for DEI
  A Republican described diversity, equity and inclusion offices as a “cancer.” Democrats pushed back, calling their understanding of the concept flawed.

March 08, 2024

Murphy stressed that DEI offices provide valuable services to more than students of color and LGBTQ+ students; they are often responsible for the well-being of student parents and first-generation students, too."

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2024/03/08/democrats-fight-dei-campus-house-hearing

• Is Inclusion Possible on Campuses Today?
  Campus leaders struggle to deliver on a core ideal.

February 26, 2024

"What’s happening in Florida, and in a growing number of states that are restricting DEI efforts, is unsettling to some students of color, women, and sexual and gender-minority students who enrolled at campuses in those states expecting to be affirmed in their identities and to be actively protected from harassment."

More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/the-end-of-inclusion

• Florida education board votes to end diversity efforts at state colleges
  The State Board of Education also downgrades sociology, identified as a topic that could “radicalize” students.

January 17, 2024

"In their rules, the State Board and the Board of Governors focus on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, often referred to as 'DEI.' They define them as 'any program, campus activity or policy' that classifies people by race, color, sex, national origin, gender identity or sexual orientation and 'promotes differential or preferential treatment' based on those classifications."

at Tampa Bay Times at www.tampabay.com/news/education/2024/01/17/florida-education-board-votes-end-diversity-efforts-state-colleges/ 

• Iowa Regents Approve DEI Cuts

November 20, 2023

“'The Regents chose to align with an extremist group of House Republicans, showing blatant disregard for the compelling evidence from data, research, and the desires of the campus community,' read a statement from One Iowa, a state LGBTQ+ advocacy group. 'Eliminating these crucial diversity, equity, and inclusion programs will devastate our universities’ capacity to attract, retain, and prepare students for their future careers.'"

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2023/11/20/iowa-regents-approve-significant-cuts-dei-offerings

• A college LGBTQ center disappeared. It wasn’t the only one.
  Research shows LGBTQ college students face persistent barriers to getting into college and staying there. That’s where LGBTQ centers come in. But the centers are starting to disappear.

October 19, 2023

"Yet even those laws are raising questions about how they could affect the lives of vulnerable college students. In the meantime, LGBTQ centers at several colleges across Texas and Florida are being shuttered, with little clarification from college leaders."

More at USA Today at www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2023/10/19/university-lgbtq-centers-disappearing/71147364007/

• Segregation or Student Support?

October 2, 2023

"Colleges worried about losing state aid are pre-emptively scaling back efforts to place students together based on race, ethnicity, and sexuality."

More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/segregation-or-student-support

• U of Houston Closes LGBTQ+ and DEI Centers

August 24, 2023

"The University of Houston will officially shutter its Center for Diversity and Inclusion and its LGBTQ Resource Center at the end of the month, The Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday, in an effort to comply with a new anti-DEI law. It is one of the first universities to shutter an LGBTQ+ student center in response to such legislation."

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2023/08/24/u-houston-closes-lgbtq-and-dei-centers

• AP Psych Course ‘Effectively Banned’ in Florida: The state’s decision to bar the inclusion of lessons on gender identity and sexuality prompts the College Board to withdraw recognition of the course.

August 4, 2023

"The College Board, which operates the Advanced Placement program, announced Thursday that it will not recognize AP Psychology courses taught in Florida public high schools because the state Department of Education is requiring that psychology courses omit lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation."

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/diversity/sex-gender/2023/08/04/college-board-wont-recognize-ap-psych-courses-florida

See also:

August 3, 2023

College Board: AP Psychology cannot be taught under Florida law
The organization refused to modify its coursework and advised school districts not to offer the class unless Florida reverses its decision.

"The College Board said Thursday that Florida will not permit schools to teach sections on sexual orientation and gender identity, coursework the nonprofit describes as foundational."

More at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/ap-psychology-cannot-be-taught-under-florida-law-college-board/689952/

• Not Just a War on ‘Woke’: Attacks on public higher education in Florida are part of the radical right’s broader antidemocratic agenda, Timothy V. Kaufman-Osborn writes.

May 22, 2023

"Florida is the leading edge of a broader national movement aimed at canceling the indispensable conditions of free inquiry, which is essential to the vitality of any democracy worthy of the name. Among others, the beneficiaries of education’s nullification will include those who profit from the comprehensive transformation of colleges and universities into workforce training centers as well as engines of capital accumulation, those who are threatened by as well as resentful of 'uppity' persons of color and those who hope to keep women shackled by the burdens of forced reproduction. What is happening in Florida is part and parcel of a much broader agenda that is anti-labor, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ, but pro-white, pro-Christian and pro-patriarchy. This is a project whose motto is 'refuse to lose' and whose purpose is to weave together a devotion to capital accumulation, an insistence on ideological conformity and a concentration of state power."

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2023/05/22/not-just-war-woke

• The Gravest Threats to Campus Speech Come From States, Not Students

April 21, 2023

"Dozens of other bills are pending in state legislatures around the country with the promise of affecting what tens of millions of students will or won’t be allowed to learn, and exerting a chilling effect on educators who fear for their jobs. The recent actions take aim at teaching about so-called 'divisive concepts,' including the history of slavery in America and its legacy in modern times, structural racism, evolving concepts of gender identity, sexuality and L.G.B.T.Q. issues, and anything to do with diversity, however defined. ‌They are just as dangerous and misguided as attempts to outlaw the teaching of evolution, or Joseph McCarthy’s persecution of people for their political beliefs."

More at The New York Times at www.nytimes.com/2023/04/21/opinion/free-speech-campus-states-not-students.html

• Biology Professor Reportedly Told to Stop Teaching Gender

November 17, 2022

"The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and PEN America are demanding answers from Valdosta State University over reports that it told a professor of biology to change how she teaches sex and gender following a parent complaint."

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2022/11/17/biology-professor-reportedly-told-stop-teaching-gender

• Professor Allegedly Fired for Transgender Views Wins Appeal

September 17, 2024

"The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that a lawsuit filed by a University of Louisville professor who alleged he was demoted because of his views on gender dysphoria can proceed to trial at the district court."

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2024/09/17/professor-allegedly-fired-transgender-views-wins-appeal

• Title IX Legal Challenges Target LGBTQ+ Protections
  Judges have temporarily blocked the new Title IX regulations in 10 red states so far. Experts expect a long legal fight that could end at the Supreme Court.

June 26, 2024

"The legal challenges primarily take aim at protections for LGBTQ+ students in the new Title IX rule, which was finalized in April. However, the injunctions thus far block every aspect of the new regulations, including new protections for pregnant and parenting students and changes to how colleges must respond to reports of sexual misconduct."

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/2024/06/26/title-ix-legal-challenges-target-lgbtq-protections

• What’s the Deal With the Blocked Title IX Rule? Here’s What Colleges Need to Know.

June 20, 2024

"The Biden administration’s Title IX rule, which promises greater protections for LGBTQ students under the federal gender-equity law, is now blocked in 10 states. Federal judges have answered Republican state officials’ legal challenges with preliminary injunctions."

More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/whats-the-deal-with-the-blocked-title-ix-rule-heres-what-colleges-need-to-know

• Final Title IX rule enshrines protections for LGBTQI+ students
  The Education Department’s long-awaited regulations also provide protections for pregnant students and employees.

April 19, 2024

"The U.S. Department of Education on Friday issued its long-awaited Title IX rule, which for the first time enshrines protections for LGBTQI+ students and employees, as well as pregnant students and employees, under the civil rights law that prevents sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs."

More at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/education-department-final-title-ix-rule-2024-2022-lgbtq-protections/713684/

See also:

Colleges, the Title IX Changes Are Finally Here. What’s In Them?

April 19, 2024

at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/colleges-the-title-ix-changes-are-finally-here-whats-in-them 

New Title IX Rules Are Out. Here’s What You Need to Know.
Designed to protect college and university students and employees from sex-based harassment and sexual violence, the regulations will overhaul how institutions respond to reports of sexual misconduct, among other changes.

April 19, 2024

at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/2024/04/19/biden-administration-finalizes-title-ix-overhaul 

• Federalist Society Panel Mulls Legal Challenge to Biden’s Title IX Proposals

September 14, 2023

"Braceras said the Education Department doesn’t have the power to rewrite the Title IX statute, which prohibits sex discrimination at federally funded colleges, universities and schools. The Biden administration said in 2021 that Title IX protects students from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity."

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2023/09/14/federalist-society-panel-mulls-legality-bidens-education-policies

• Colleges Could Be Flooded With Citizen Lawsuits Under Proposed DEI Legislation

March 30, 2023

"Critics of the proposed bills worry that making it easier to sue colleges will open higher education to a raft of lawsuits and have a chilling effect on administrators’ efforts to address rampant mistreatment of minorities, women, and LGBTQ students and faculty on campuses."

More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/colleges-could-be-flooded-with-citizen-lawsuits-under-proposed-dei-legislation

• 1 in 4 Students Nixes a College Based on State Politics, Survey Shows
  The latest studentPOLL from Art & Science Group shows that traditional-aged students are considering more specific policies when choosing where to attend to college.

October 14, 2024

"What was notable along party lines, however, was what types of issues students cited as influencing their decision. Liberal-leaning students’ cited more specific issues, such as restricted abortion rights, anti-LGBTQ+ laws, lenient gun laws and too little concern about racial equality. Conservative-leaning students, meanwhile, were more likely to name the broader concern of being 'too Democratic.' The two specific issues conservative students listed most frequently after that were 'too liberal [on] LGBTQ+ laws” and “too lenient on crime.'”

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/government/politics-elections/2024/10/14/survey-finds-students-base-college-decisions-state

• U of North Texas Eliminates Identity-Based Faculty Groups

September 12, 2024

"The cuts include Faculty Senate committees for women, people of color and LGBTQ+ employees, as well as a number of networking groups, including those for new faculty, Christians, Asians and Pacific Islanders, Black employees, and employees who were born in other countries."

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2024/09/12/u-north-texas-eliminates-identity-based-faculty-groups

• 59 Fewer Jobs and $17 Million in Cuts: How a University System Got Rid of DEI

September 11, 2024

"North Carolina State University, a large research institution like Chapel Hill, reported 27 job reassignments, including all positions that had been located within the department of multicultural student affairs, the LGBTQ-pride center, the women’s center, and the African American cultural center."

More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/59-fewer-jobs-and-17-million-in-cuts-how-a-university-system-got-rid-of-dei

See also:

September 12, 2024
N.C. Universities Have Cut 59 Positions Since DEI Policy Repeal

at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2024/09/12/nc-universities-cut-59-positions-after-dei-policy-repeal

and 

Tracking Higher Ed’s Dismantling of DEI
Updated September 6, 2024

at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/tracking-higher-eds-dismantling-of-dei

• University faculty in the South increasingly worried about political climate, survey shows

September 5, 2024

"In addition to higher education-specific concerns, such as attacks on tenure and removal of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, some faculty cited anti-LGBTQ+ laws and abortion bans among their reasons for wanting to leave the South."

More at Louisiana Illuminator at https://lailluminator.com/2024/09/05/university-faculty-in-the-south-increasingly-worried-about-political-climate-survey-shows/

• Survey Finds Most Professors Are Comfortable Teaching Sensitive Topics
  A snapshot of academic freedom perceptions in a tumultuous academic year yields results that may surprise higher education observers. But demographic breakdowns might provide a more complex picture.

July 31, 2024

"Even as Ithaka S+R’s top-line findings don’t suggest that academic freedom is broadly chilled, the results are nuanced. For example, while the majority of faculty respondents don’t avoid teaching or talking about vaccines, climate change, DEI or LGBTQIA+ and other issues, the report says, 'a fifth of respondents indicated they avoid discussing the conflict in the Middle East and abortion and/or contraception.'”

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/academic-freedom/2024/07/31/survey-most-professors-comfortable-teaching-touchy

• Arizona State Instructor Followed, Injured by Turning Point USA Crew
  Police investigate an altercation with a queer ASU educator as possible aggravated assault by an operative of the right-wing group.

October 14, 2023

"Two associates of the right-wing organization Turning Point USA followed a queer Arizona State University instructor on campus Wednesday afternoon, with one demanding he answer questions about 'How long you’ve been attracted to minors' and 'How long you’ve fantasized about minors having sex with adults' while the other filmed the encounter."

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/diversity-equity/2023/10/14/arizona-state-instructor-followed-injured-turning

• Colorado College Encourages Students to Transfer From States With Anti-DEI Laws

September 14, 2023

"Officials expect the program to be small, serving 10 or so students who feel uncomfortable at institutions that are retooling or eliminating resources for specific identity groups, like Black and LGBTQ students."

More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/colorado-college-encourages-students-to-transfer-from-states-with-anti-dei-laws

• In These Red States, Professors Are Eyeing the Exits

September 7, 2023

"More than 4,200 faculty members across the four states filled out the survey, the results of which were released on Thursday. Salary and the local political climate were the top reasons cited for seeking another job, with concerns about academic freedom, tenure, and DEI work also topping the list. About 30 percent of respondents said they worried about shared governance, LGBTQ+ issues, and reproductive-health and abortion access."

More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/in-these-red-states-professors-are-eyeing-the-exits

• Florida, Texas Colleges Removed From Campus Pride List

August 30, 2023

"The nonprofit Campus Pride excluded four public colleges in Florida and Texas from this year’s list of the most LGBTQ+-friendly campuses due to new anti-LGBTQ+ state laws."

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2023/08/30/florida-and-texas-colleges-removed-lgbtq-friendly-list

• ‘More Cowardly Than Cautious’: Faculty Decry College Leaders’ Silence on DEI Attacks

May 25, 2023

"One reason other college leaders may have kept quiet is that DEI elicits strong reactions among alumni, politicians, and their own students and faculty members during these highly polarized times. A Chronicle survey and interviews of college presidents found that many censor themselves even on topics they consider central to their mission and values, including DEI, racial justice, and gender and sexual identity."

More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/more-cowardly-than-cautious-faculty-decry-college-leaders-silence-on-dei-attacks

• The Role of Politics in Where Students Want to Go to College: Study finds that nearly one in four high school seniors said they passed up, out of political concerns, a college they would have initially considered because of its state. The trend is evident among conservatives and liberals.

March 27, 2023

"Other groups that were more likely to eliminate a college because of its location: LGBTQ students (32 percent versus 21 percent for straight students) and non-first-generation students (26 percent versus 19 percent for first-generation students)."

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2023/03/27/role-politics-where-students-want-go-college

• 1 in 4 Prospective Students Ruled Out Colleges Due to Their States’ Political Climates

March 27, 2023

"One in four students said they had ruled out institutions due to the politics, policies, or legal situation in the state where the college was located. Students who identified as LGBTQ+ reported rejecting institutions for these reasons at a higher rate than did students who identified as straight."

More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/1-in-4-prospective-students-ruled-out-colleges-due-to-their-states-political-climates

• When Building a Diverse Leadership, Emphasize Culture, Not Quotas

September 21, 2022

"One of the 10 Action Steps Toward Racial Justice was establishment of a senior-level position focused on inclusion and equity. Shaya Gregory Poku, associate vice president for institutional equity and belonging, joined a cabinet whose members are now 50 percent female-identifying and 40 percent minority. Since 2017, Wheaton has also hired an LGBTQ-plus engagement coordinator, an interfaith-engagement coordinator, and a director for its Center for Social Justice and Community Impact."

More at The Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/report/free/emphasize-culture-not-quotas

• Conservatives Rail Against ‘Segregated Graduations’: The latest target of the conservative attack on DEI is identity-based graduation ceremonies. Universities argue they give students an opportunity to celebrate their accomplishments with their communities.

May 2, 2023

"Some institutions have also increased the number of affinity graduations they offer, in many cases adding special ceremonies for LGBTQ+ students (often referred to as a lavender graduation), Latino students, Asian students, Middle Eastern students, undocumented students, first-generation students and other populations."

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/students/diversity/2023/05/02/conservatives-rail-against-segregated-graduations

• Higher Ed’s Political Naïveté: As the College Board’s Florida fiasco shows, it’s time to stop appeasing malign actors.

February 13, 2023

"Last fall the College Board launched a pilot course for Advanced Placement African American studies in high schools across the country. The course included topics, like Black queer theory, intersectionality, and critical race theory, that were then omitted or played down when a revised framework was released this month. That coincided with statements by Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, that described the pilot course as indoctrination in wokeism, criticizing the inclusion of intersectionality and queer theory. The timing seemed suspicious, and many concluded the curriculum had been altered to please the likely future presidential candidate."

More at Chronicle of Higher Education at www.chronicle.com/article/higher-eds-political-naivete

• Survey: Campus Supports Help Save LGBTQ+ Lives: New research by the Trevor Project shows that LGBTQ+ students are at significantly lower risk of suicide if their college offers mental health and LGBTQ+-specific resources.

September 29, 2022

"LGBTQ+ college students with access to mental health and LGBTQ+-specific services through their institution are significantly less likely to seriously consider or attempt suicide, according to a new survey by the Trevor Project."

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/2022/09/29/mental-health-supports-reduce-suicidality-lgbtq-students

• Students Mostly Feel Safe on College Campuses, but Not Equally So: Creating more positive perceptions of safety and security involves understanding precollege experiences, which groups need strategic outreach and where the worries lie.

June 22, 2022

"Female students, LGBTQIA+ students and students of color responding to the survey, conducted in mid-May by Inside Higher Ed and College Pulse with support from Kaplan, tend to feel less safe, and the latter two groups have had less positive interactions with campus safety officials compared to the full sample of 2,004 students."

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/news/2022/06/22/survey-campuses-perceived-safe-some-students-not-all

• University of Northern Iowa student settles discrimination complaint with student, agrees to training: UNI also pays student $5,000

June 6, 2022

"The state Board of Regents has agreed to settle a complaint with a University of Northern Iowa student who accused the institution and its employees of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity."

More at The Gazette at www.thegazette.com/higher-education/university-of-northern-iowa-student-settles-discrimination-complaint-with-student-agrees-to-trainin/

• LGBTQ students more likely to leave home for college in more welcoming states: New research shows LGBTQ people are four times more likely than non-LGBTQ people to choose a college away from home to find a more accepting environment.

May 19, 2022

"New research from the Williams Institute, a think tank at the UCLA School of Law, revealed that LGBTQ people who attended college or graduate school were four times more likely, at 21.5 percent, to report having chosen a university in a different city or state to seek a more welcoming climate than non-LGBTQ people, at 4.8 percent. Nearly one-third, or 32.6 percent, of LGBTQ people reported picking a college elsewhere to get away from their family, compared to 14.1 percent of non-LGBTQ people. "

More at NBC News at www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/lgbtq-students-likely-leave-home-college-welcoming-states-rcna29259

• US universities ‘need better data’ on abuse of LGBT students: Institutions appear unaware of severity of problem due to paucity of survey data and lack of on-campus advisory efforts, UCLA researchers find

May 16, 2022

"LGBTQ college students in the US are routinely suffering harassment and assault, yet their institutions often don’t collect the data needed to reveal the size of the problem, a nationwide analysis has found."

More at Times Higher Education at www.timeshighereducation.com/news/us-universities-need-better-data-abuse-lgbt-students

• Study: LGBTQ+ Students More Likely to Experience Bullying

May 12, 2022

"LGBTQ+ students were more likely to experience discrimination and violence, according to a new study by the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law Williams Institute and the Point Foundation, a scholarship fund that provides financial aid for LGBTQ+ students."

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2022/05/12/study-lgbtq-students-more-likely-experience-bullying

• A $400K settlement over misgendering a trans student could foreshadow wave of Title IX clashes: A Shawnee State University faculty member had sued the Ohio public institution over disciplinary action officials took against him.

April 21, 2022

"The case shows how debates concerning trans students’ rights in higher education have intensified. And they could grow more heated with the impending release of the Biden administration’s proposed regulation on Title IX, the federal law banning sex-based discrimination in education settings. "

More at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/a-400k-settlement-over-misgendering-a-trans-student-could-foreshadow-wave/622233/

• State educational gag orders targeting colleges are on the rise, report finds

August 17, 2022

"Conservative policymakers across the U.S. have started limiting what can be addressed in the classroom or presented in libraries, mostly going after curricula centered on race, diversity and inclusion and history behind those topics. They’ve also railed against education on gender, sexuality and LGBTQ issues."

More at Higher Ed Dive at www.highereddive.com/news/state-educational-gag-orders-targeting-colleges-are-on-the-rise-report-fin/629782/

• U of Iowa Professors Faulted in Student Speech Complaint

February 7, 2022

"The University of Iowa found faculty members violated the speech rights of a master’s student accused of telling classmates that 'homosexual conduct' was against his religious beliefs and that they were 'immoral' because they were less religious, according to The Gazette."

More at Inside Higher Ed at www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2022/02/07/u-iowa-professors-faulted-student-speech-complaint