Thanks to Colin Kennedy, definitions and constructions of civil rights have been on my mind lately. I was startled to learn of people’s opinions about depression and its relationship to disability. Most shocking to me is the fact that certain individuals seemed not to understand how and why the civil rights of the disabled were protected under non-discrimination policies. The ignorance makes me wonder about people’s feelings regarding the civil rights of queer people. If people at Macalester can’t see why Colin’s disability should require a more contextual look at his study abroad application, I wonder if people here understand why a person’s sexual orientation should mandate flexible institutional policies. Macalester presents itself to be a place where civil rights are universal, but in my opinion it is instead a place where students and administrators alike are ultimately more concerned with the school’s reputation than they are with fair treatment.

I remember the long hours I spent in high school looking into all sorts of different colleges. Unlike most, however, I didn’t really pay much attention to the inside pages of the college prospectuses I reviewed. Instead, I would turn immediately to the back page of the booklet where the college non-discrimination policy was most commonly located. Most colleges espoused the equal treatment of individuals regardless of age, race, gender, religion, and/or ability. Macalester’s policy, however, included sexual orientation. As a queer senior in a homophobic South Dakota high school, I was ecstatic to learn that there might be a place where being gay didn’t necessarily change the way I was treated. I came to Macalester thinking that my days of being the butt of the jokes of dumb jocks and the target of angry locker graffiti were over.

The discrimination I have experienced at Macalester, however, has been much more complex and much less overt than that of the South Dakota bullies. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy to be in a place where being openly gay hasn’t resulted in physical violence or overt hateful remarks. However, my access to a safe and comfortable learning environment has been adversely affected by my sexual orientation even here at Macalester. Queer students face unfair obstacles at Macalester that the administration would rather not acknowledge. The most disconcerting obstacle for many queer students is Macalester’s housing policy.

Being forced to live with someone of the same sex can be a very scary situation if you are someone who is sexually attracted to individuals of the same sex. Even more devastating is being forced to choose whether you identify as a male or female and then being forced to live with someone who identifies as the same. These situations cause awkward interactions (the treatment of nudity, crushes on roommates, coming out catastrophes, sexile, etc.) that often result in the discomfort of queer individuals in their own living environment. If the person chooses to take refuge away from the assigned room (and/or roommate) academics can be negatively affected. For instance, a gay friend of mine once took refuge in his straight-girl-friend’s room, sleeping under her bed, for an entire year. His choice meant that he had no study space of his own and also that he was forced to work around the hours his friends kept. Such displacement of queer students not only hinders the queer individual, but it also misses the point of on-campus housing (to provide a safe and comfortable living environment that allows for academic success).

It is time for Macalester to realize that forcing students to live with individuals of the same sex negatively affects the lives of many. Other schools that are similar to Macalester have already taken steps to make their residence halls more comfortable to queer folk. Haverford College, Wesleyan University, Hampshire College, Swarthmore and Williams have all adopted residential life policies that allow for co-ed living environments. These schools allow their students to live together in suites regardless of sex, gender, and/or sexual orientation. Macalester continues, however, to discriminate in its policy on the basis of sex.

In my opinion, Macalester is guilty of violating its own non-discrimination policy that clearly states that the institution does not discriminate on the basis of gender/sex. Housing policy decisions, however, are made on the sole basis of sex. The result for many GLBT students on campus is an uncomfortable living environment that can adversely affect academics. The only reason to not change the policy is the fear of the school falling lower in US News and World Report ratings and/or losing support from alumni. Unfortunately, Macalester’s reputation is often viewed by students and administrators alike as more important than the well-being of its students. Until the students and administration start working together in order to end discrimination of all forms at Macalester the school will continue to discriminate in complex and covert ways in order to better its reputation. It is important that everyone be aware of the discrimination that takes place at Macalester, and moreover, that concerned individuals band together in search of institutional change.

In a better world, individuals would be treated more fairly by institutional policies. The Macalester I envision would take Colin Kennedy’s disability into account in making decisions regarding his studies abroad. The school I dream of grants all of its students access to comfortable living environments that promote academic success. If this world were mine, students and administrators alike would be more concerned with the equal and fair treatment of our community members than about our reputation.