Campus Pride’s 2022 “Absolute worst, most unsafe campuses for LGBTQ+ youth”

As we discussed around this time last year, nonprofit Campus Pride updated its worst college list for the 2022-23 school year. 

This time, 13 were added to its annual listing, totaling 193 unsafe U.S. college campuses for LGBTQ+ students. 

The list began in 2015 “to bring attention to the colleges and universities that requested Title IX exemptions against LGBTQ students.

For a comprehensive list and interactive map, visit Campus Pride’s “Worst List” page. 

“The criterion to be the “absolute worst” campus includes either of the following: 1) Received and/or applied for a Title IX exemption to discriminate against LGBTQ youth and/or 2) Demonstrated past history and track record of anti-LGBTQ actions, programs and practices,” Campus Pride’s announcement reads. 

Students who have experienced these on their college campus can report the situation on the nonprofit’s website as well. 

This year the Worst List once again named  Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah, Seattle Pacific University (SPU) in Washington and Yeshiva University in New York, the Campus Pride release states. These campuses illustrate the necessity for the Worst List and are striking examples of the anti-LGBTQ actions that students face at these colleges and universities.

Specifically, Campus Pride cites BYU as “cracking down against pro-civil rights protests” and “removing some 5,000 allyship and activism resource guides” that were meant to be given to incoming freshmen.

At SPU,  the university’s 2022 employment policy requires employees to “refrain from sexual behavior that is inconsistent with the University’s understanding of Biblical standards, including same-sex sexual activity.”

“It’s critical that we boldly call out and push back on schools with anti-LGBTQ+ policies at every level of community, and The Worst List shines a national light on these colleges and universities that are harming LGBTQ+ students and creating on-campus climates that are dangerous and oppressive,” said Chloe Guillot, a 2022 graduate and current Masters of Divinity student at Seattle Pacific University. 

“At Seattle Pacific University, students like me have been organizing for years against an administration determined to marginalize queer voices and weaponize power to further anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination on a campus that is overwhelmingly demanding change. It’s important that people see what’s happening at Seattle Pacific University and other schools on Campus Pride’s Worst List so we can come together, identify and name transgressions, and take action to pave the way to a better future where LGBTQ+ students and employees are safe on every campus.”