Impacts of Sexual Orientation to College Student Education

Sexual orientation refers to emotional, physical and romantic attraction and our sense
of personal and social identification based on those attractions. An individuals sexual
orientation is not a black or white issue. The orientation is along a continuum, with people
having an attraction for people of the opposite sex on one continuum on the side while other
have sexual attraction for people of the same sex on another continuum. Heterosexuality,
homosexuality and bisexuality are among the known sexual orientations in most colleges
across America even though they are not the only sexual orientation identified in the world.
For instance, queer is a non-specificity term used in sexual labelling. Scientists have tried to
research and find what causes people to have the sexual orientation exhibited in them.
Research of most scientists shows that nurturing and nature play a role to determine the
sexual orientation of an individual. The paper examines the impacts of sexual orientation in
institutions of higher learning.
Impacts of sexual orientation to College Education
Colleges in America have changed significantly since the country started establishing
centres of higher learning. The society during the early stages of higher education was
conservative, and any sexual other than what the society considered normal was not tolerated
(Nadal et al., 2014). People who were sexually attracted to people of the same sex as
themselves dared not act on their actions in public or places that would raise suspicion.
Homosexuality and bisexuality were not encouraged in the society and were seen as
outrageous and satanic (Nadal et al., 2014).
Each person has a biological sex whether male or female. Our biological gender represents
our social and legal status in the society. We express our gender identity in the way we
behave around other people either masculine or feminine. Some students in the colleges

identify themselves as transgender which means their biological and gender identity do not
agree (Nadal et al., 2014).
Colleges across the United states have options for people to fill out their sexual
orientation in the 21st century. The option may make some individuals feel like they are
intimidated and that the college will discriminate them when the college knows the persons
real sexual orientation (Patton et al., 2016). Higher education has undergone dramatic
changes which mean that the system is more tolerant to the changing societies. Students
attitude about and understanding their sexuality orientation develop during college years
(Patton et al., 2016). For instance, most gay students do not come out of the closet until
college. College to them is a moment of freedom and a time to experiment and act upon their
actions.
Attitudes and notions towards sexual orientation are likely to be challenged during
college years. African American students in American colleges are against homosexuality
than white students (Przedworski et al., 2015). Their intolerance bases on their religious
convictions and the fact that homosexuality is unnatural. Thus, when gay students attend
colleges with many black Americans, they tend to be discriminated. Sexual discrimination
against these students impacts on their levels of concentration and understanding in class
(Przedworski et al., 2015). They thus tend to be secretive and prefer to isolate themselves for
fear of victimisation.
Gay and lesbian students often isolate themselves afraid to be discovered by other
classmates and even their roommates especially if the speech of the roommates and
classmates is against gays (Quaye and Harper, 2014). The fear of victimisation affects the
self-esteem of these students and the formation of the identity of these students. Studies show
that students who identify themselves as gay have at some point been assaulted by their

fellow students in colleges or verbally abused (Quaye and Harper, 2014). Sexual harassment
against these individuals increased the chances of the students to drop out of school and
indeed some of the students who are harassed have dropped out of school.
Most gay students come out during their college years. Coming out to parents may
strain the relationship students have with their teachers and relatives (Woodford et al., 2015).
Radical Parents can even choose to disown their children and stop sponsoring them in college
which increases frustrations of the students (Quaye and Harper, 2014). Furthermore, the
students may decide to drop out of school as the only way out of the harassment and rejection
from other students and even parents.
Gay students often end up doing drugs while in college. These students may end up
doing hard drugs, tobacco and even club drugs. When students get involved in hard drugs that
are prohibited in by the state, they are likely to be prosecuted which means an end to their
college education (Worthen, 2014). They are also likely to be completely hooked on these
drugs and sex to fill the gaps of loneliness that is often in their hearts. The feeling of
belonging and being recognised overwhelm them to the point that they see college as a prison
and a place that is not conforming to the changes in the society (Worthen., 2014).
Most students who identify themselves as gay, lesbians or bisexual have at some point
contemplated suicide while in college. The risk of committing suicide comes when these
students find hard to survive in a society that always rejects them and sees them as an outcast.
College education on the hand does little to make these students feel like they are part of the
school (Worthen., 2014). They have to always fight for their rights for them to be recognised
by the institution.
Students have often been found dead in their rooms, and the cause of the death is
mostly known as suicide. Colleges do little at times to defend the rights of these students

even though they are thought to be places of liberation and understanding (Nadal et al.,
2014). College becomes a place of nightmares for students who identify themselves as gay,
bisexual and lesbian. Students who are in the process of coming out by the time they reach
college often agonise on what they are to say to friends and family (Aragon et al., 2014).
They often feel that they are lying and omitting vital information.
These students often find it difficult to concentrate in class which means that they often
perform poor than the counterparts who are heterosexuals. Gay discrimination is still rampant
in American colleges (Aragon et al., 2014).
Heterosexuality refers to sexual attraction to members of the opposite sex.
Heterosexuality is often accepted in the society, and heterosexual students often find it easy
to navigate in colleges as compared to those students who are gay, lesbian or bisexual (Ptton
et al., 2016). Heterosexuality is the order of the day at most colleges. These students receive
counselling that has been established by the colleges and are often comfortable in their
classes which mean that their minds are settled, and they can put all their energy towards
education.
Heterosexuals students have everything figured out by the time they enter college.
They do not have thoughts that worry them like coming out to their families since some of
the parents expect their sons and daughters to be involved with someone by the time they are
in college (Aragon et al., 2014). It also easier for heterosexual students to introduce their
patterns to parents, professors and even friends which mean that their romantic relationships
are likely to be approved by the people in their lives.
Understanding the advantages that heterosexual students have makes them have the
ability to perform well and make something out of their education at the college level. On the
other hand, gay students always feel the difficulties of introducing their romantic partners to

people who are in their lives (Przedworski et al., 2015). Presenting a member of the same sex
as one's love interest is often thought to be weird, unnatural and great sin. Which means that
gay students always lead double lives that threaten to destroy their personality for they are
always afraid of being discovered hence they are always thinking of ways to cover their
tracks until the moment when they feel it is comfortable to let their friends know about their
sexual orientation.
Gay and bisexual students are not entirely sexually active, and not all of them practice
anal intercourse. Some of them, however, get the idea that for them to be gay, they have to
practice anal sex (Laska et al., 2015). The practice of anal sex may expose these students to
HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. As noted above, gay students often hide
and do not receive proper counselling in colleges. Hence these students may be sick with a
deadly disease and they do not have the people to listen to them and help them. The result is
the death of young men and women with a promising future (Aragon et al., 2014).
Discrimination in colleges is still rampant even though the society is advocating for
sexual orientation tolerance. Recognising that people have to be accepted and respected for
their sexual orientation is one of the ways that colleges are trying to protect gays, lesbians
and bisexual students (Aragon et al., 2014). Some colleges have gone a milestone of ensuring
that their admission form has a place where the different sexual orientation and gender issues
are listed, and students are supposed to choose the options that describe them.
Colleges are recognising that the societies are changing and the demographics of the
gay individual are also on the rise in the modern society. Universities have come up with antidiscrimination laws that aim at protecting the students who identify as gay, lesbians and
bisexual. The levels of discrimination are dropping as compared to in the 19th century
(Quaye and Harper, 2014).

The hiring of openly gay, lesbian and even bisexual professors in colleges is also
improving the confidence of the students who are always hiding their sexual orientation. The
students come to terms with their sexual orientation and decide not to hide anymore (Quaye
and Harper, 2014). The presence of wealthy gay individual in colleges who gay, lesbian and
bisexual students can look upon makes them accept who they are and pursue academic
excellence.
Arguably, the gay and lesbian parades which are mostly attended by college students
have given them the voice they lacked for a long time in the United States. The students are
thus at liberty to live a free life free from prejudice and discrimination from college
management and student body (Quaye and Harper, 2014). These parades improved the levels
of tolerance in colleges since the universities now recognise the importance of cultural
diversity and sexual preference.
Today, colleges teach students to be liberal minded and avoid any form of
discrimination that can result in the death of other students in colleges. The result is an
education system that recognises the importance of accepting people of varied sexual
orientations in their programmes (Aragon et al., 2014). Colleges now know that the
personality of individuals matters and not their sexual orientation. They are training students
to co-exist with each other regardless of sex preferences since these individuals might pose
qualities that can help in the building of the nation once they are educated well.
The department of education in the United States has laws that govern the admission
of students in colleges. These laws now favour students who might be gay, lesbians and
bisexual against sexual discrimination of any case whether coming from professors or other
students. Thus, gay and bisexual students have an ample time of getting into college and

surviving there and acquiring their diploma or degree without interference from any person or
source (Woodford et al., 2015).
Legalising of a gay relationship in the United States has also impacted on gay college
students. These students have the protection of the law hence they are longer afraid of
expressing their feelings in public for fear of victimisation (Aragon et al., 2014). They now
attend college and learn with others who respect them or just tolerate them for the sake of the
law. The law allows gay marriages in the United States hence the many citizens have made
peace with gay relationships in America.
The presence of gay people in high profiles makes gay students work hard despite the
challenges they face in social places and lecture halls.
On the contrary, LGBT students face discrimination in student leadership. The
students leadership counsel elects heterosexual students mostly hence the needs of the LGBT
students are often neglected by the council, and they are rarely addressed before universities
board of management which means that the problems that these students suffer are still more
and far from being addressed (Aragon et al., 2014). The student body see LGBT people as
misguided and unable to rule for they do not understand whether they should be male or
female.
LGBT students are among the minor groups hence they do not have the luxury of numbers.
Few of them If any get to student council offices as leaders. When elected, they also still have
little or no say on the governing of the student council, and they always preside over few
issues that touch the education of the LGBT students in the college (Aragon et al., 2014).
LGBT issues are inadequately represented in the college curriculum hence the
animosity against gay students. Colleges are still seen as homophobic against gay students
(Arends, 2014). The failure for colleges to establish a curriculum that fully explains the

LGBT issues makes students who are heterosexual to fail to understand their counterparts
who are gay and thus call them queer and faggots (Aragon et al., 2014). These students think
that being gay is contagious. Thus they do not like to interact with gay students. The result is
a college that is divided with a lot of animosity and suffering for LGBT students. These
students are thus unable to enjoy their college life and they hate everything about college and
even the education itself. These students are always afraid of being physically assaulted by
other students.
Professors who are gay also face the animosity shown to gay students. Heterosexual
professor always prefers the company of those people who share the same thoughts as them
(Aragon et al., 2014). Thus, transgender and gay teacher always feel secluded and unwanted
in lecture halls for they are seen as advocates of immorality and sexual orientation
awkwardness that is the subject of their lives. There are often not trusted with students and
seen to encourage immoral unnatural behaviour instead of rebuking it among the students
(Aragon et al., 2014).
Lack of understanding among many educators affects the way LGBT tutors are
perceived and treated. Traditional teachers in colleges feel that higher institutions of learning
should strictly concentrate on research and should not dwell on the sexual orientation of
individuals (Arends, 2014). Gay tutors thus fail to attend lectures for they fear that they will
be discriminated. The result is a college with students who have not finished their courses.
Students can also have multiple talks in one of their modules which affect their understanding
of the syllabus for they are often confused for different educators to have different teaching
methods that work for them and enable students to understand the concepts being taught
(Quaye and Harper, 2014).

Arguably, institutions policies on equality and sexual tolerance determine the choice
that gay students and educators make when they want to be part of a college. Colleges that
protect the LGBT teachers and students will often have many of these individuals while
colleges that do not uphold the rights of the LGBT teachers and students will often have a
small number of gay students and teachers in their lecture halls (Quaye and Harper, 2014).
Adverse treatment from students will make these people feel unwanted, and the next
logical decision will be for them to move to places where they will feel appreciated and
needed (Aragon et al., 2014). Colleges which do not tolerate gay educators will thus lose
human resources thus lowering the level of education standards for students in these colleges.
Furthermore, these colleges often compromise on the quality of education their students
receive since their educators are not at liberty to conduct themselves the way would like for
they fear victimisation from the board of management of the university (Aragon et al., 2014).
LGBT students mental illnesses are often associate with harassment and bullying (Laska et
al, 2015). LGBT students are at risk of facing violence and abuse in colleges than non-LGBT
students. The violence impacts on their freedom and ability to concentrate and focus in class.
When mental illnesses set in, these students are forced to leave school and attend therapy or
be enrolled in a mental institution. Mental illnesses affect the future of education of these
students and them always in and out of rehab centres. These students end up missing
hundreds of hours of classes, and they are often behind in their class work.
These students thus fail in their classes or must have retakes for them to catch up in class. On
the other hand, these students are often a year behind when compared with the counterparts
who were enrolled at the same time in college.
LGBT students have torn relationships both at home and at school which makes them
not to identify with either of the two places they are thus roaming streets and seeking a place

where they can be heard.

When they run away, they end up becoming homeless and

uneducated. Since LGBT students have dysfunctional relationships in colleges, they are
subject to sexual abuse by tutors and other students (Aragon et al., 2014). These students can
be raped which can interfere with their psychology meaning that these students will have
their emotions broken and they are subject to abuse from people, and they cannot even report
the cases of ill-treatment. The students thus suffer in silence which negatively affects their
education.

References
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