CUSOM LGBTQ tolerance

[medschoolbound7]

Any comments on how accepting CUSOM is towards the LGBTQ community? I am intending on matriculating and want to make sure that I will be treated the same as everyone else. Not only am I concerned because it's a religious university, but they also don't mention "sexual orientation" in its non-discriminatory policy. Any thoughts??

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[stlrams22]

Any comments on how accepting CUSOM is towards the LGBTQ community? I am intending on matriculating and want to make sure that I will be treated the same as everyone else. Not only am I concerned because it's a religious university, but they also don't mention "sexual orientation" in its non-discriminatory policy. Any thoughts??

You have nothing to worry about. You will be treated like everyone else. If anyone ever tries to judge you on the basis of not being Christian they are hypocrites.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

I'm pretty sure that you won't be the only one. I bet there are some in the class already.

 

[touchpause13]

Hey there. I'm queer and interviewed at CUSOM earlier this cycle. I think that the school itself is fine in that regard. Honestly I don't remember religion getting brought up at all during the day and I didn't see any red flags. However I didn't see anything expressly promoting LGBTQ tolerance either.

My worry about CUSOM was the location surrounding it. You are in the bible belt and it's a very conservative area. I think you will be fine, but you may encounter more ignorant beliefs than you would in a metropolitan area in the north or on the coasts.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Hey there. I'm queer and interviewed at CUSOM earlier this cycle. I think that the school itself is fine in that regard. Honestly I don't remember religion getting brought up at all during the day and I didn't see any red flags. However I didn't see anything expressly promoting LGBTQ tolerance either.

My worry about CUSOM was the location surrounding it. You are in the bible belt and it's a very conservative area. I think you will be fine, but you may encounter more ignorant beliefs than you would in a metropolitan area in the north or on the coasts.

It's pretty cool how you guys reclaimed the word queer and made it okay. I don't think that's ever happened in modern society before.

 

[touchpause13]

It's pretty cool how you guys reclaimed the word queer and made it okay. I don't think that's ever happened in modern society before.

I love it personally. However i have gotten flack from straight people before who have told me "not to use it, because it's offensive"

 

[deleted480308]

Like all places, most people will be professional and courteous. If you just live your life and be nice, you'll be fine

 

[Dr. Zombie]

As long as its not an issue you press on people or try to be an attention-seeker you'll be fine. Most people respect those who are professional, courteous and friendly.

 

[Mehd School]

I didn't know that queer was finding it's way back to PC these days. Interesting.

And you'll be fine, OP.

 

[Chillywilly]

If you're gay you should've applied to schools near NYC LA or Miami. You'll find the good D no problem

 

[touchpause13]

DMU is super gay friendly IMO. And Florida isn't the best... we don't even have marriage rights there!

 

[touchpause13]

As long as its not an issue you press on people or try to be an attention-seeker you'll be fine.

And what exactly is that supposed to mean?

 

[Dr. Zombie]

And what exactly is that supposed to mean?

Not to bring up topics that may make other people feel uncomfortable, if you have an educated idea you are socializing with conservative religious people in that specific moment, whether in school or out of school.

I would only encourage to bring up topics for awareness if you feel you are in a safe environment with open-minded people.

 

[Chillywilly]

DMU is super gay friendly IMO. And Florida isn't the best... we don't even have marriage rights there!

It's the whole reason south Florida wants to become it's own state... Different culture, views and economy than northern florida

 

[deleted480308]

And what exactly is that supposed to mean?

Comeon, we all know what it means. Some people are so busy identifying with their subgroup (be it gay, christian, veagan, libedtarian, homeschool advocate etc) that they can't shut up about it long enough to be a human. Those people are annoying...to everyone.

Op, you'll be fine. I'll likely be there too and you can be my friend. If anyone is horrible to you, we can figure it out together

 

[touchpause13]

Not to bring up topics that may make other people feel uncomfortable, if you have an educated idea you are socializing with conservative religious people in that specific moment, whether in school or out of school.

I would only encourage to bring up topics for awareness if you feel you are in a safe environment with open-minded people.

That sounds a lot like being in the closet... ijs

 

[Goro]

This is what always concerns me when I'm advising LBGT students. The school itself might be welcoming, but the community might not. Thus, applying to schools in larger cities might be the safest approach. That still leaves prlenty of schools to pick and choose from.


My worry about CUSOM was the location surrounding it. You are in the bible belt and it's a very conservative area. I think you will be fine, but you may encounter more ignorant beliefs than you would in a metropolitan area in the north or on the coasts.[/quote]

 

[MDelight]

I love it personally. However i have gotten flack from straight people before who have told me "not to use it, because it's offensive"

Aren't you a female who is married to a male?

Last I checked, that's not very "queer."

 

[touchpause13]

Aren't you a female who is married to a male?

Last I checked, that's not very "queer."

Congrats you have no idea what queer means.

Educate yourself, fool:

An umbrella term to refer to all LGBTIQ peopleA political statement, as well as a sexual orientation, which advocates breaking binary thinking and seeing both sexual orientation and gender identity as potentially fluid.A simple label to explain a complex set of sexual behaviors and desires. For example, a person who is attracted to multiple genders may identify as queer.Many older LGBT people feel the word has been hatefully used against them for too long and are reluctant to embrace it.
http://geneq.berkeley.edu/lgbt_resources_definiton_of_terms#queer

 

[MDelight]

Congrats you have no idea what queer means.

Educate yourself, fool:

An umbrella term to refer to all LGBTIQ peopleA political statement, as well as a sexual orientation, which advocates breaking binary thinking and seeing both sexual orientation and gender identity as potentially fluid.A simple label to explain a complex set of sexual behaviors and desires. For example, a person who is attracted to multiple genders may identify as queer.Many older LGBT people feel the word has been hatefully used against them for too long and are reluctant to embrace it.
http://geneq.berkeley.edu/lgbt_resources_definiton_of_terms#queer

Whoa, relax dude. I'm bi, so I know exactly what "queer" means. It was a joke, hence the .

 

[mcloaf]

Not to bring up topics that may make other people feel uncomfortable, if you have an educated idea you are socializing with conservative religious people in that specific moment, whether in school or out of school.

I would only encourage to bring up topics for awareness if you feel you are in a safe environment with open-minded people.

To me this reads as: you'll be fine as long as your keep your sexuality to yourself and don't make anyone uncomfortable. Not very appealing IMO, but I have no idea how much this is or isn't relevant to CUSOM.

 

[touchpause13]

Whoa, relax dude. I'm bi, so I know exactly what "queer" means. It was a joke, hence the .

Sorry love my bad. It's hard to read sarcasm on the internets and I've encountered a lot of ignorance round these parts

 

[MDelight]

Sorry love my bad. It's hard to read sarcasm on the internets and I've encountered a lot of ignorance round these parts

No problem. I probably should've made it more obvious. Lesson learned haha.

 

[Dr. Zombie]

That sounds a lot like being in the closet... ijs

I figured you'd take my advice and twist it around since that's the tone you took with your initial reply. I'm not sure how being in the closet or being out of the closet has anything to do with bringing up LGBT conversations with people who are comfortable/uncomfortable with the topic.

My cousin is lesbian and she doesn't mind telling people who asks her about her sexuality but she doesn't go announcing it to people who never asked her or bring it up in a conversation that didn't merit to mention it.

Nonetheless, she knows not to initiate LGBT conversations on whatever topic or current event with people who still might feel uncomfortable or awkward despite their tolerance. I'm sure there are plenty of non-LGBT things that go around the world that we avoid to mention to others due to the sensitivity of the topic.

Like I said, as long as its not an issue the OP is proactively pressing on others, I'm sure everything will be fine.... ijs

 

[touchpause13]

Whatever dude.

LGBTQ conversations is pretty freaking vague, like do you mean not mention if your dating someone or what? Obviously it's not a good idea to walk into a church and invite everyone to go to pride with you, but it sounded like you were advocating actively hiding your sexuality. And I wasn't the only person who took it as such.

 

[Dr. Zombie]

Whatever dude.

LGBTQ conversations is pretty freaking vague, like do you mean not mention if your dating someone or what? Obviously it's not a good idea to walk into a church and invite everyone to go to pride with you, but it sounded like you were advocating actively hiding your sexuality. And I wasn't the only person who took it as such.

Whatever dude to you too.

How you took it beyond my written words is honestly not my problem. I know what I said and no where did it say to actively hide your sexuality. If you wanna say "hey this is my significant other" that's perfectly fine. No one should go around hiding who they love. I never said to deny who your bf/gf is.

I simply said, if you know you're in the middle of socializing with very conservative people, I don't believe that proactively bringing up LGBT topics is a good idea unless they're the ones asking you questions proactively.

 

[touchpause13]

Excuse me?

That's uncalled for and you know it

 

[Dr. Zombie]

Excuse me?

That's uncalled for and you know it

The way you blew my advice to something negative, making it seem like I'm promoting people to be in the closet is also uncalled for and you know it as well.

I'm dying for oppression of minority groups to cease in this country. The last thing I would ever do is tell someone to hide who they are. I just said to choose conversations wisely, especially since everyone knows how the Bible belt is.

 

[touchpause13]

I responded to what you posted, I didn't personally attack your character

 

[Dr. Zombie]

I responded to what you posted, I didn't personally attack your character

I do apologize. I just felt attacked. I felt you interpreted what was a good-willed post, as a way to say that I'm the kind of ignorant person who would promote people to say in the closet.

@mcloaf you also shouldn't have interpreted that way either. I don't feel my advice should've been turned in that manner.

I'm pro-LGBT equality, as a disclaimer.

 

[mcloaf]

@mcloaf you also shouldn't have interpreted that way either. I don't feel my advice should've been turned in that manner.

I'm pro-LGBT equality, as a disclaimer.

Eh, the post was pretty vague. I wasn't trying to analyze your personal beliefs, merely pointing out that saying "don't make people uncomfortable" can have a pretty broad range of meanings. There are plenty of areas where simply being yourself (if you are anything other than straight) is interpreted as being in your face or forcing your "choices" on others who would rather not know. Heck, I'm straight and I wouldn't want to be in an environment like that.

Regardless, we should shift course in this thread since OP was asking about CUSOM and its environs, about which I know nothing.

 

[touchpause13]

I do apologize. I just felt attacked. I felt you interpreted what was a good-willed post, as a way to say that I'm the kind of ignorant person who would promote people to say in the closet.

@mcloaf you also shouldn't have interpreted that way either. I don't feel my advice should've been turned in that manner.

I'm pro-LGBT equality, as a disclaimer.

I think this was just a miscommunication. I wasn't trying to attack you or call you homophobic, just pointing out that your wording was vague and could be interpreted as telling OP to stay in the closet. I see that wasn't your intention, and you were coming from a place of trying to be helpful.

I'm cool if your cool.

 

[NontradCA]

Im not LGBQT and don't speak for anyone who is, but in this day and age I almost feel like that community has an obligation out of pure survival to "be in people's" faces about their sexuality, especially in an educational setting. I don't think anyone should have to feel like they have to abide by a DADT policy when there are groups (and relative to this thread groups like these are rampant in NC) actively putting down their way of life.

 

[Dr. Zombie]

I think this was just a miscommunication. I wasn't trying to attack you or call you homophobic, just pointing out that your wording was vague and could be interpreted as telling OP to stay in the closet. I see that wasn't your intention, and you were coming from a place of trying to be helpful.

I'm cool if your cool.

I see your point. I did feel bad about the word exchange. I'm totally cool with you and I'm glad we squashed it.

 

[touchpause13]

I see your point. I did feel bad about the word exchange. I'm totally cool with you and I'm glad we squashed it.

*Internet bro hug*

 

[touchpause13]

Did OP disappear?

 

[deleted480308]

Did OP disappear?

Great, lost my friend already...i'm a loser

 

[mnspice]

I think you will be just fine! I'll be matriculating at CUSOM too, and I know there are going to be many of us from bigger cities/less conservative areas who are more than comfortable with the LGBTQ community. You'll definitely have a network of student support, regardless of the sentiment felt in the Buies Creek area. I'm actually excited about the idea of us med school transplants coming to the area and the potential impact we can have on the community with our different perspectives and life experiences. And I highly doubt the school itself would be discriminatory in any way, but if anything happened, again there would be many students who would jump to support you. I loved hearing at Accepted Students Day how responsive the administration was to student requests/ideas/grievances, and with how much they care about their students I couldn't imagine them making anyone feel unwelcome because of sexual orientation.

PS. If you ever want to hit up a gay bar in Raleigh, I'm your girl! Haha.

 

[medschoolbound7]

Great, lost my friend already...i'm a loser

Did OP disappear?

I was enjoying being a bystander, touchpause13. I'm glad to hear that the LGBTQ students will have a lot of support at CUSOM even though it is religiously affiliated and located in the bible belt. Also, mnspice I completely agree with you. It's exciting that we're going to have the opportunity to give this small town a perspective from the "outside world". I'm also excited to learn about other demographics within our med school class, and of the outside buies creek community. After all, being a physician is about serving every population so the more we understand about different groups within our society the better.

Sb247 I have a feeling we'll end up being great friends the next 4 years! Me, you, and mnspice will definitely have to hit up Raleigh's gay bars in between blocks.

 

[touchpause13]

I think you have a great attitude and I wouldn't sweat it too much. Obviously you want to go to CUSOM, and hopefully Buies Creek will either be fine or will be receptive to education from Campbell. The undergrad campus did seem relatively large, and honestly I'd be pretty shocked if they didn't have some sort of GSA or other LGBTQ organization.

 

[medickdb]

I think you have a great attitude and I wouldn't sweat it too much. Obviously you want to go to CUSOM, and hopefully Buies Creek will either be fine or will be receptive to education from Campbell. The undergrad campus did seem relatively large, and honestly I'd be pretty shocked if they didn't have some sort of GSA or other LGBTQ organization.

Unfortunately, they don't.

http://www.campbell.edu/pdf-top/student-activities/Clubs_and_Organizations_Web_Sheet_2013-2014.pdf
http://www.collegeview.com/schools/campbell-university/studentlife

However, that doesn't mean that the students aren't accepting, especially at the medical school. Meeting the other matriculants, current first years and faculty this past weekend, I cannot see everyone being anything other than welcoming. Already, there are three of us in this thread who will be going to CUSOM in the Fall who support however medschoolbound7 or any of our peers or mentors chooses to love.

 

[deleted480308]

I think you have a great attitude and I wouldn't sweat it too much. Obviously you want to go to CUSOM, and hopefully Buies Creek will either be fine or will be receptive to education from Campbell. The undergrad campus did seem relatively large, and honestly I'd be pretty shocked if they didn't have some sort of GSA or other LGBTQ organization.

It is a very conservative baptist school, I would be shocked to see an organization at the main campus. But, a med program will (simply due to demographics of those required to run one) end up being far more open than the parent institution...with decidedly differently trained staff.

I really do think op will be treated fine by staff/students at the med school.

I was enjoying being a bystander, touchpause13. I'm glad to hear that the LGBTQ students will have a lot of support at CUSOM even though it is religiously affiliated and located in the bible belt. Also, mnspice I completely agree with you. It's exciting that we're going to have the opportunity to give this small town a perspective from the "outside world". I'm also excited to learn about other demographics within our med school class, and of the outside buies creek community. After all, being a physician is about serving every population so the more we understand about different groups within our society the better.

Sb247 I have a feeling we'll end up being great friends the next 4 years! Me, you, and mnspice will definitely have to hit up Raleigh's gay bars in between blocks.

Glad I still have my friend.
We can teach each other about whatever demographic we consider ourselves, I can be your tour guide through half southern half immigrant white libertarian Christians...you'll be ok. I can DD for you and mnspice one weekend as well, it should be good times.


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[deleted480308]

Also, multiquotedoesnt work in this app


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[ninjaman22]

I think maybe 10 to 20 years from now, North Carolina will become a blue/purple state. Just look at Virginia. A lot of liberals have moved into VA to work in DC and that has completely changed the demographics and the same thing is happening in North Carolina right now. I don't think you will have any problem with the school OP. When I interviewed there, religion wasn't mentioned at all and they all seemed very friendly.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I think maybe 10 to 20 years from now, North Carolina will become a blue/purple state. Just look at Virginia. A lot of liberals have moved into VA to work in DC and that has completely changed the demographics and the same thing is happening in North Carolina right now. I don't think you will have any problem with the school OP. When I interviewed there, religion wasn't mentioned at all and they all seemed very friendly.

Er... you know how people were talking about South Florida being its own state? NOVA is essentially the same. But once you move down the culture and political views change massively. That being sad think NOVA is like 40% of Virginia's pop and the only part growing.

But yah, CUSOM seemed pretty chill and I liked it. However the area around it looked kinda like a 2nd world country and I imagine it being very non-friendly towards gays.