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LGBTQ+ Students’ Perceptions of Campus Climate at Western Carolina University

Collin Hill

Higher Education Student Affairs Program, Western Carolina University

EDRS 602: Research Methods

Dr. Emily Virtue

November 30, 2020

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LGBTQ+ Students’ Perceptions of Campus Climate at Western Carolina University

The research question that guided this study was, “how do LGBTQ+ students at Western

Carolina University’s perceive campus climate?” The sample size for this study was 3 people.

The participants were contacted by email and recruited through the Sexuality and Gender

Alliance organization at Western Carolina University. All participants were enrolled as full-time

students at Western Carolina University and were both residential and commuter students. Table

1 outlines the demographic information pertaining to the three participants.

Table 1

Participant Demographics

Age Year Gender Sexuality Major

Baker 21 4th Genderfluid Pansexual Athletic Training

Mary 20 3rd Cisgender Woman Bisexual/Aromantic Psychology

Edith 18 1st Cisgender Woman Bisexual Education

Findings

This study was conducted at Western Carolina University in October 2020. The

researcher used a narrative design and conducted semi-structured interviews with 3 Western

Carolina University students who identified as part of the LGBTQ+ community. After

transcription, the interviews were coded. A priori codes were used for the first round. These

initial codes included homophobia/transphobia, resources, organizations, mental health/trauma,

self-policing, and campus feel. The themes identified as significant in the coding process were

“hit or miss” and “navigating spaces.” These findings represent the experiences of LGBTQ+

students at Western Carolina University

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Discussion

The themes “hit or miss” and “navigating spaces” came up during participant interviews.

Participants described the campus climate at Western Carolina University as “hit or miss”

because certain aspects of campus were perceived as more welcoming and accepting than others.

“Navigating spaces” was of particular importance for participants because individuals felt as if

they had to hide or change certain parts of themselves depending on what aspect of campus they

were participating in. The following discussions offers a more thorough understanding of the

themes that surfaced during participant interviews.

Hit or Miss

The theme of hit or miss was consistent with the three participants. Most felt that Western

Carolina University was a welcoming place if you found the right major, people, and

community, yet not all aspects of campus were always comfortable for them. Baker and Edith

both had experiences where they felt like they were comfortable with a small group of friends,

but did not always feel comfortable being out and proud in groups of people. Mary and Baker

both felt comfortable being out to their classmates, but not to their professors. These dynamics

produced the environment which was “hit or miss” as they felt comfortable within their smaller

groups but not necessarily with campus as a whole.

Finding small groups where they felt accepted were very important factors for how

welcoming the three participants found campus. When asked about her bisexual identity and her

experience on campus, Edith said:

But, um, being bisexual on campus is mostly just, you know, I'm with a very accepting

group of people so it might become more difficult as years go on and more people

know. But for now, it's just it's just part of me and everyone seems to be okay with it.
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She felt like having her group of friends within her major and organizations helped surround

herself with people who were accepting of her and made her feel like that part of herself didn’t

need to be hidden. Two of the participants brought up being members of SAGA and how there

was always a group of people who would be accepting even if they heard homophobic remarks

from students as they walked by.

The three students felt like Western Carolina University had done a good job for making

campus welcoming for LGBTQ+ students, but that didn’t mean that they felt they had the

support systems and relationships that they needed. When asked about how they felt on campus,

Baker said:

If you find the right crowd, everyone's going to love you everyone's going to be really

nice to you. But if you find the wrong crowd, they're going to use slurs against you,

they're going to be mean. Um, and part of it is at Western, trying to find the correct crowd

can be hard, because I don't really remember any support system really being out there.

Both Mary and Edith felt like they did not really know what support systems were available apart

from the SafeZone trainings and CAPS. All three participants said that if they did not seek out

the information, they would not have known that the Intercultural Center also offered services

for LGBTQ+ students.

Navigating Spaces

The theme of navigating spaces came up for the three participants as they discussed how they

could not always be open with their identities and the ways that they self-policed, closeted

themselves, and avoided certain spaces. Baker talked about having to closet themselves and deal

with being misgendered on multiple occasions, especially around their clinical work in their

athletic training major. They said:

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I will say one major thing as someone who is going into healthcare is that sometimes at

clinicals I have to closet myself, which is kind of rough especially if I'm there for a short

period of time where it's kind of like okay yeah I can deal with it. I've gotten so used to it

which sounds so bad but just, if I'm at clinicals I just let them call me she/her because it's

just so hard.

Baker felt like there were certain times on campus where they could not be open about their

gender and personal pronouns because of the major that they chose and because they were scared

of how accepting individuals would be. Edith also mentioned times where she thought she would

need to closet herself intentionally. She mentioned a few hypothetical situations such as being in

the presence of someone who explicitly said they were not an ally of the LGBTQ+ community

and in class with a professor who said something that was offensive but would be too scared of

the consequences of outing herself to call them out on it. Mary also made comments about not

wanting to speak up if professors misgendered someone or used incorrect language for fears of

repercussions or accidentally outing herself.

The three participants felt like they had seen discrimination occurring on campus against

other minority groups which made them less comfortable to be open with their own identities.

When talking to Edith about how LGBTQ+ friendly she found campus to be she said:

It’s a mix. My professors, and you know, a lot of my classes gave me the general vibe of

they don’t care or they’re accepting. But then I can’t discount seeing confederate flags

and hearing about all the Trump and Pence support.

Edith believed that if someone is prejudiced against someone in a racial community, they are

likely to also be prejudiced against people in the LGBTQ+ community. Baker also had a similar

experience with feeling like discrimination against other minority groups led to a less welcoming
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campus climate. Baker discussed Christian extremists who came on campus and were preaching

anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments among other things. They felt like this made them scared to be openly

queer around students who seemed to be listening to what the group of extremists was saying.

Mary brought up the students who made racist comments at the beginning of the semester this

fall and how that was not a surprising thing that happened from Western Carolina Students. Two

of the participants made comments about how they felt that campus was welcoming to minority

students, but was a safe bubble that did not extend around the surrounding off-campus

communities.

Ties to Literature

Both themes of “hit or miss” and “navigating spaces” reinforce the literature discussed

previously. Two of the participants felt like they were most tied to campus through their

academics, and because they felt like their professors were accepting, they also felt like the

campus was accepting. Garvey et al. (2017) found that the classroom was of particular

importance for the students in the LGBTQ+ community because academics were the main way

that students felt tied to their campus. All participants felt like they had not been directly

discriminated against, but had heard stories or felt uncomfortable in certain situations. This

feeling is explored by Vaccaro (2012) in a study about microclimates on campus. Vaccaro

(2012) found that LGBTQ+ students who do not experience specific acts of violence, verbal

harassment, or exclusion can still find campus climates hostile or unwelcoming. The impact of

an unwelcoming environment can affect well being, identity development, and mental health.

The study also found that LGBTQ+ students did not describe common organizational level

climate perceptions but did find that the intersection of social group identity did shape climate

perceptions.
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References

Garvey, J. C., Taylor, J. L., & Rankin, S. (2014). An examination of campus climate for LGBTQ

community college students. Community College Journal of Research and Practice,

39(6), 527–541. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2013.861374

Vaccaro, A. (2012). Campus microclimates for LGBT faculty, staff, and students: An

exploration of the intersections of social identity and campus roles. Journal of Student

Affairs Research and Practice, 49(4), 429–446. https://doi.org/10.1515/jsarp-2012-6473