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RI gov reconsiders gay civil rights: Thanks to a meeting with gay activists, Rhode Island Gov. Carcieri now says he’s open to a domestic partnership bill – just two days after vetoing a bill which would have given domestic partners the right to make funeral arrangements.

Every Duke Gay Should Know #1: 2007 Addition of "Gender Identity" to Duke's Non-Discrimination Policy

In 2005, Duke University's LGBT Task Force formed a committee to research and advocate for the extension of the university's nondiscrimination policy to transgender individuals. The committee examined policies favored by other states, corporation, and peer institutions, such as Yale, Harvard, Stanford, and Princeton. After ten months of research, it issued a report, recommending that the university protect transgender members of the university community from discrimination based on "gender identity or expression." In February 2007, the board of trustees approved an update to Duke's statement of equal opportunity that included the words "gender identity." It also voted to change the wording of the section covering LGBT individuals to refer to "sexual orientation" rather than "sexual orientation or preference," to reflect the evolution in the ways that sexual orientation is understood.

Sounds great on paper, right? Fast forward to August 30, 2007, when a parent's complaints resulted in the eventual relocation of a transgender student from a West Campus dorm to an off campus apartment.

So I ask myself, how far is our university willing to go to protect a transgender student? Is it really just an advocate until the threat of a lawsuit arises? What does the fact that it took three years for the inclusion of "gender identity" to be voted on by trustees say about our university's willingness to pioneer the way for LGBT student rights? What does our administation's response to the transgender student's housing situation only months after the nondiscrimination policy was officially changed say about the weight of this commitment to equal rights?

Two years later, as we look ahead to the construction of a new dorm wing on West Campus, with no administrative mention of active measures being taken to ensure that the new housing options will accomodate transgender students...how much has really changed?

Friday Night

19 yr old wht duke student, 6’3”, 200lbs. brown/green, ddf, athletic. hwp plz, only looking for ppl around my age, if u cld be my dad I wont reply. i can host, or go to urs. hit me up if you’re looking for nsa fun, ur pics get mine.

Every night countless personals like the above go up on what I like to call the ‘Core Four’ of dating websites - Craigslist, Manhunt, Adam4Adam and Gaydar. Just like the sororities except with fewer champagne breakfasts, but just as many secret rituals. There’s not a lot of originality to be found in these ads. You’re either gl or vgl (good looking or very good looking, vvgl would be shameless). The number of body physiques isn’t particularly diverse either - you can either be athletic or have a swimmer’s body. And God help you if you aren’t hwp (height-weight proportional). Unsurprisingly, everyone’s looking for the same thing - nsa (no strings attached) fun. Exactly what is meant by fun can vary wildly. (I’ve found that it’s usually safe to assume that it’s not an offer to gift livestock in FarmVille though). In fact, the only real chance at artistic expression is how much you want to expose on camera - a tasteful nipple, navel, or perhaps the entire nether-region?

Of course it’s very easy to sit back and mock these types of personals, and the faces behind them. And to do so is hypocritical of me - I used these sites for years. But it really begs the question - why do so many college age gay and bisexual men (and I recognize women do too, though the number is much smaller), even those who are out, seek out ‘fun’ on these websites?

For those in the closet, the answer is relatively simple - the internet offers an anonymous outlet for their sexual desires - the 21st century equivalent of a public cruising spot (or the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport if you're a Republican politician). It’s a little more complex for those out of the closet. Even though it’s not their only available avenue for meeting other gay and bisexual men, out guys are still prolific on these websites. I think the real reason is more than just gay men being somehow inherently more promiscuous than the general population.

Focusing specifically on campus, I suspect it stems partly from Duke’s lack of a real dating culture. In lieu of this, people turn to what will give them quick gratification - even if it is devoid of intimacy. The heterosexual community has Shooters for random hookups, while the gays have Craigslist. You don’t need to frequent either to hook up with someone at Duke - but they’re probably the most rapid ways of doing so. So it’s really not that surprising that so many out gay and bisexual men use personals as a quick way to get off - especially considering hectic college lives. In fact, glancing through Craigslist will show that many Dukies are taking multitasking to the extreme, arranging hookups in Wilson Gym or Perkins Library.

My hope is that eventually we’ll progress to the point where we live in a community where Craigslist and all the other sites have largely outlived their purpose. So how do we get there? To be honest I'm not really sure, though I can think of a number of ways that would improve the situation. First would be to acknowledge the issue, instead of sweeping it under the rug. Without dialog and discussion on this taboo issue, little progress can be made in tackling it. Second would be to address students' sense of identity and self-worth through various programming, which is of course what the LGBT center already seeks to do. Coupled with a gradually improving campus environment towards LGBT individuals, this would ideally lead to a Duke where students feel more secure in themselves, and less inclined to seek out random gratification.

In the end, random hookups, while immediately gratifying, are usually superficial, and I think the general well-being of the community would greatly improved with dating and relationship cultures that are more open. The pace of change definitely isn't rapid, but I do think that we're moving towards a healthier, more organic environment in this regard.