Cal State Long Beach was recently rated on its friendliness toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community on campus, but the results were nothing to be proud of.
The Campus Pride Index, an organization that rates colleges and universities nationwide on their accommodation of the LGBT communities in their respective campus environments, rated CSULB in eight different categories.
Out of five stars, the campus received an average score of 2.5 stars on its friendliness toward the LGBT community.
In comparison, other universities in the state, including Cal State San Marcos and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, received 3.5 stars from the Campus Price Index, while University of California, Irvine received 4.5 stars.
Jeff Klaus, associate vice president of student services and the dean of students for CSULB, said he disagrees with the score the university received.
“In my opinion, there are some significant inaccuracies,” Klaus said. “I don’t think we should have scored that low … Of course we can get better, and there’s always things we can improve on, but we’ve made significant strides in the last five years or so.”
CSULB received more positive reviews in half of the categories that the Campus Pride Index based its report on, including LGBT policy inclusion, academic life, student life, and counseling and health. The university received at least 3.5 stars in each of these categories, including a perfect 5 stars for counseling and health and student life.
On the other hand, the university scored no more than 1.5 stars in the categories of LGBT support and institutional commitment, housing and residential life, campus safety, as well as recruitment and retention efforts.
The support and institutional commitment category addresses whether a campus has a safe zone or ally program, a program that provides open support for LGBT by identifying “allies” on campus, which CSULB lacks, according to the report.
Klaus, however, said this claim is inaccurate.
“We’ve been offering the [safe zone and ally program] for years through the College of Health and Human Services,” he said. “Not only have we always had it, but this Friday will be the first time that a training is specifically set up for students.”
Klaus also said the university supports the LGBT society on campus.
“The president of the university for at least the last 13 years has provided funding toward the LGBT Center,” Klaus said.
Jennifer Reed, the adviser for the queer studies minor in the Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, said although the campus is supportive of the LGBT community, she believes more could be done.
“Long Beach is known as a ‘queer’ city,” Reed said. “People expect more out of the university.”
She said that the LGBT Center on campus is staffed only part-time by student workers, which can make it difficult to contact the center, but that positive changes are being made.
“There is stuff happening, but it’s taken a long time to get it going,” Reed said. “I think things are getting better.”
Klaus said he agrees and that the university is moving in the right direction.
“I’ve only seen us do more things, not less, like the gender-neutral bathrooms,” he said. “Years ago, we never had any gender-neutral bathrooms, but now we do. That’s progress. That’s moving in the right direction.”
Klaus said it is absolutely important to accommodate special groups on campus.
“We want every student at Cal State Long Beach to feel supported, and safe,” Klaus said. “I’d love them to believe that this is their home away from home.”
