CMU improving poor rating for ‘gay friendliness’

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Spectrum President Justin Gawronski was not pleased with results when Central Michigan University took the Campus Pride Index survey in 2008.

CMU received two and a half stars out of five in “gay friendliness” in 2008. The Macomb sophomore sent an e-mail Monday to Campus Pride informing the survey conductors of the updates the university has made since then.

Pride Source will reevaluate and give CMU a new rating.

“They do research on their end to make sure everything is correct,” said Shannon Jolliff, director of LGBTQ services. “We should be receiving an update on our new rating soon.”

Jolliff said it would be great to be up to par with colleges such as Western Michigan University and Eastern Michigan University.

“I’m hoping for a 4.5 (on our new score),” Jolliff said. “A five would be great.”

Since the 2011 index results were posted, WMU, EMU and Grand Valley State University all scored a 4.5.

The University of Michigan was the only college in the state to score five out of five stars. Michigan State University has yet to take the survey.

“Back in 2008, the funding was different,” Jolliff said. “Policies have changed; we have the mentoring program now and we finally have a full-time director.”

The Campus Index survey was created in 2007, which at the time only had 30 colleges participating.

In 2011, more than 300 colleges nationwide participated, said Shane Windmeyer, the executive director of Campus Pride and the founder of the Campus Pride Index.

“Last year there were 19 colleges rated five stars,” Windmeyer said. “This year there are 33, which shows colleges are using it to improve their score.”

One thing CMU could change to improve its score is allow a gender-neutral housing policy, Jolliff said.

“Student groups support it, the Student Government (Association) supports it,” Jolliff said. “I just don’t know if it’s something possible in the near future.”

Transcend, the support group RSO for transgender students, began at CMU last year and has the potential to increase the index rating.

Jolliff said Spectrum has been at CMU since the 1980s, under different names.

One thing Spectrum has been pushing are scholarships geared toward bringing in more LGBTQ students, Gawronski said.

He said he has been looking into what other universities’ gay and lesbian programs have been doing, but many of them have been around longer and have larger budgets.

“We’ve been working with what we’ve got,” he said.

The survey contains 55 questions regarding the types of services and rights a campus has to offer LGBTQ members. It is based on eight principles which include housing, campus safety, support and institutional commitment.

“We worked with them in writing the questions in the survey,” Windmeyer said. “Our staff has plenty of experience of the field of LGBTQ.”

The University of Michigan is the only university to respond to the survey annually. It is unknown when the other Michigan universities last submitted one, Windmeyer said.