By Chase Waldner
Davidson tries to be an inclusive school; at least on paper. We have resources like Lulabelle’s Market and the lavender lounge available for our students, but what is the experience of going to this school actually like? All I can comment on is my own experience, as a cis gay man, at Davidson, and how I think it could be improved.
I’d like to start with the acknowledgment that Davidson is a small, private, Christian, liberal arts school in the South. With all that comes some phobias and isms that are undesirable, and Davidson is not the only college with these flaws out there. That being said, I can count on my fingers how many other out, gay men I know who go here. And I would still have some fingers left over. My point is: there are very few of us. That feels isolating. I’ve found it difficult to feel like myself and connect with other gay men here.
Sure, we have YANASH and QSA, and other resources like the lavender lounge on campus, but with COVID none of the typical clubs or spaces have been up and running. YANASH and QSA hangouts are few and far between, and I’m not even sure if the lavender lounge is open or not. This begs the question, what can we do to improve the gay experience at Davidson?
I would like to propose the creation of either an app or a website dedicated to all the LGBTQIA+ resources on campus and also serve as a platform to connect current and future queer Davidson students. With this program we could have a list of all the resources Davidson currently offers for LGBTQIA+ students and include descriptions and locations for them as well. I think if more people knew about what Davidson has to offer there would be increased participation across the board. Furthermore, I think it would be easier for closeted students to find safe spaces and friends if there was a platform built for queer students. You could take it as far as having anonymous chat rooms for those closted students to be able to express themselves without any risk or potential danger.
Overall, I think the addition of either a website or an app with these features is paramount for the LGBTQIA+ population of Davidson. Currently, us Davidson gays have no real way of finding each other or connecting with the resources set up for us on campus, let’s change that!
If there’s any comp sci gays out there reading this feel free to put this idea into reality!
Hi Chase! I love how you pointed out many of the flaws of our school and area. I agree with you that activism around here for the LGBTQIA+ community is “talked about” and “present”, however, it isn’t very stable or available. An app or website is a great idea for people to connect and this proposal would definitely improve the progressiveness or this awareness.
I love your idea of having an app or website for queer students! I definitely agree that it would be beneficial to have more ways for LGBTQ+ students to connect, especially for closeted students as you mentioned. There were some LGBTQ+ resources I wasn’t even familiar with until recently so Davidson could definitely do a better job of making those resources more accessible and known to students. Really cool idea!
An app or website would be a great way to connect with both current and future LGTBQ+ students at Davidson. I appreciate you for pointing out Davidson’s flaws and how it can make people be more guarded about who they are. I have heard of places like the Lavender Lounge on campus but did not know much of what it offers or its location. What can be an effective and safe way to promote the groups and places you mentioned, as well as resources like the app/website you are proposing, to students on campus?
I love this idea Chase! Creating a central location for resources for queer students and a platform to connect with other queer students at Davidson could be so helpful. I like the idea of including future Davidson students because prospective queer students may be more likely to come here if they know that there will be other people like them and that they will be welcomed when they get here.