“It’s one of those ‘don’t get too comfortable’ kind of things, and it’s a reminder that while it’s a small victory, we need to keep making small victories until we can be truly accepted on this campus with everybody else.” “I don’t like to give too much hype to being removed from the Princeton list because we still have problems, but it’s a step in the right direction,” Brooks said. In 2016, A&M was removed from the Princeton Review’s list of the “20 Most LGBT unfriendly” colleges for the first time since the GLBT Resource Center was created. However, A&M’s reputation for the LGBT community has been improving according to the Princeton Review. “I think it was interesting the way that they went about that bill, the way it was being worded.” “It’s sad when a university downright denied the right for a group of students to exist the way that they are in such a way that is given to others,” Brooks said. The bill was stopped when John Claybrook, 2012-2013 student body president vetoed the bill, citing it as “great harm” to the reputation of A&M. The university also garnered attention in 2013 when the student senate passed a bill to allow students who had a religious conflict to opt out of giving money, through tuition and fees, to the GLBT Resource Center. “That’s why we have to share out stories, and that’s why we have to be proud.” “I don’t think a lot of people realize the necessity for a group to be able to organize on campus because so many people are able to live with their heterosexuality and it isn’t an issue,” Bobby Brooks, A&M’s first openly gay student body president, said.

Circuit Court of Appeals, where the court ruled in favor of Gay Student Services and ordered the university to officially recognize their organization. Texas A&M went all the way to the Fifth U.S. When the group was denied by university leadership, they sued A&M for violation of the First Amendment. In 1977, a group of gay students attempted to form an organization for LGBT services and support at A&M. “Showing up at events like this helps to showcase that Texas A&M is a place that really believes in providing a world class education to every aggie and that there’s not a delineation in the opportunities that are available to students based on who and how they love.”ĭon Kelly Collection Fellowship Provides Platform To Study LGBT History “I think there’s this story about Texas A&M that is rooted in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s about who is welcome at Texas A&M,” Mandala said. “I understand that historically A&M has not had the best reputation for LGBT+ students, but I think the work we are doing, and will do, can change that.”Ĭhad Mandala, program coordinator for Texas A&M’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender, or GLBT, Resource Center also noted a historic stigma around A&M concerning its tolerance of LGBT people and other minority groups.

“One of my favorite things about A&M is feeling like you’re a part of something bigger than yourself,” Lieper said. Leiper said that he enjoyed sending the message that A&M is a welcoming place for all members of the Aggie family. “When the parade announcer told the crowd that this was A&M’s first time marching, I remember feeling very proud that I was a part of that.” “People were very shocked to see A&M marching in the parade, which speaks to the work we have to do in spreading our message,” Chad Lieper, Class of 2017, said.

This year, A&M marched in the Pride parade with support from university administration and staff. The event includes a festival featuring exhibitor booths and performances by musical artists, as well as a night parade. Houston Pride is an annual event that takes place in Downtown Houston. On June 24, Texas A&M made history when it officially participated in its first recognized Pride festival and parade in Houston.

Gay zoom room houston