Adjusting to Cal Poly can be challenging for new students, but those whose sexuality falls outside the heterosexual sphere often have even more hurdles to overcome.
When history senior Jay Ledbetter walks into an elective course, it doesn’t matter whether the professor refers to Ledbetter as a he or a she, the student prefers to be referenced as both.
“I use both he and she interchangeably, and I don’t correct anybody because I like both; I don’t want one or the other, but it’s hard when people don’t know what to use,” Ledbetter said. “I really don’t care what you call me, most people switch all the time and I never correct them.”
Ledbetter came to Cal Poly as a transfer student, and by the end of the first quarter, came out as a lesbian. About a year later, she realized that her gender identity was fluid and began identifying as a transgender or gender queer person.
“Basically I told everyone that I knew I was a lesbian, and the more people that knew, the better,” Ledbetter said. “Once I was out, I was fine not hiding it, but my gender identity was something I needed to understand.”
When Anthony Rust came to Cal Poly as a freshman, he found that adjusting to college life was almost like starting all over again. The Pride Center helped him with coming out and acted as a place for acceptance.
“I wasn’t out in high school, so coming to college made it interesting,” Rust said.
Ledbetter quickly became involved in Cal Poly’s Pride Center, an organization in Student Life and Leadership whose aim is to support and raise awareness about issues of gender identity and sexuality.
Once students become comfortable with their sexuality, the Pride Center helps in the beginning stages of adjusting to a new LGBT lifestyle. However, before that establishment is made, people often feel lost and hopeless, Ledbetter said.
“Cal Poly is good once you have that queer connection; for a lot of students it can be a scary place, and a very homophobic space,” she said. “I feel like wherever I turn on campus I know at least someone will have my back.”
For students interested in being involved in the queer community, and how to handle coming out, PRISM, a project Ledbetter has been working on for two years, acts as a counseling tool to deal with coming out issues.
“Some people who have been out in high school come to college and it makes them feel like they’re back in the closet,” Ledbetter said.
She started PRISM as a side project in the Pride Center as a place for students to feel comfortable with expressing their identities. When students find a community they’re comfortable in, a burden is lifted, she said.
“You don’t have to fit in one box or another, and we try hard to break down stereotypes,” Ledbetter said. “People who seek out help from PRISM don’t have to share their identity, and e-mailing has become a popular way to face issues people are dealing with.”
For the more serious issues, there are experts ready to handle any situation that existing counselors can’t.
“There is always a group of people ready to counsel and a group of people that are in training,” Ledbetter said.
The speaker’s bureau, or “gays on display,” are members of the center who come to different classes to discuss sexuality and gay issues, Ledbetter said.
“After we come to these events it feels really good, because these students didn’t know these issues and now they do from actual queer people,” Ledbetter said. “Which is much better than from text books.”
Rust is a member of the speaker’s bureau and active in PRISM, helping students seek out their identity and counseling services.
Cal Poly continues to make the experience of being an LGBT student more acceptable, and there are incredible amounts of support from the community, Ledbetter said.
Another way Cal Poly continues to expand its programming is by hosting the Western Regional queer conference next February. The conference will hold workshops with various events, speakers and performances put on by students, graduate students and members of the community, Ledbetter said.
“The Pride Center is moving onto the second floor of the UU, which I think helps send a better message to other students on campus,” Rust said.