CHICAGO — Something new at 140-year-old Elmhurst College made senior Ally Vertigan very proud when she learned of it.
A
question on the undergraduate admission application for the 2012-13
school year asks: “Would you consider yourself a member of the LGBT
(lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community?”
The college is believed to be the first in the nation to ask about sexual orientation on its admission application.
The
question is optional for potential Elmhurst students filling out the
application. But officials at the private college say their goal in
asking it is to increase diversity and give them a better understanding
of LGBT students. Diversity, according to the officials, is an important
mission of the school, which is affiliated with the United Church of
Christ.
“I’m so proud of my college. I think this
is a great step contextually, within the nation,” said Vertigan, who
noted that she “identifies within the gay, lesbian, bisexual,
transgender community.”
Gary Rold, dean of
admissions, said the college will get a better handle on what LGBT
students want from their college experience. He said students’ interests
affect greatly what the college offers, including majors and
extracurricular activities.
“Football players
wouldn’t come here if we don’t have a football team,” he said. “This has
greater emotional charge to it. But it’s in the same continuum.”
Rold
said the college began thinking about how to increase enrollment of
LGBT students after they were approached by the school’s chapter of
Straights and Gays for Equality, which wanted to have a college
recruitment fair.
Shane Windmeyer, of Campus
Pride, a non-profit national organization for student leaders and campus
groups working to create safer college environments for LGBT students,
said the college’s decision “sends a message of acceptance.”
Elmhurst students questioned last week generally embraced the college’s decision to ask the question.
“If it’s optional that’s all right,” said Lauren Grimm, a sophomore. “If it was mandatory, that would be ridiculous.”
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©2011 the Chicago Tribune
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