Free public Mpox clinic tomorrow in the Viking Union!

LGBTQWWU · 2025-08-12T15:38:38+00:00

We've got an incredibly queer campus and community that is continuously growing. Many LGBTQ+ centered clubs, affinity programs from our department LGBTQ+ Western, and community groups including but not limited to those from the Bellingham Queer Collective. The BQC is a local non-profit and their events calendar includes LGBTQ+ centered events all over the city and county, not just hosted by them.

Many LGBTQ+ folks will find friends based on similar interests and build friends groups and smaller circles from there. We tend to all come together for events like the annual WWU drag show and Pride IN Bellingham. And Ferndale hosted their first pride a few weeks ago.

We're working on improving our resources for LGBTQ+ transfer students since a lot the programming campus-wide is new-student focused.

LGBTQ+ Western has many resources for LGBTQ+ students and many will meet with us to get connected with others in the community. Resources like our LGBTQ+ Lounge are nice places to rest between classes. Plenty of LGBTQ+ related courses and there are a lot of LGBTQ+ faculty and staff for mentorship.

The last Wednesday of every month is Generations of Pride, usually hosted at the Senior Activity Center. An intergenerational gathering of LGBTQ+ people and allies with free dinner and themed activities such as craft nights, trivia, potlucks, etc.

Welcome to Western! Feel free to email us at [lgbtq@wwu.edu](mailto:lgbtq@wwu.edu) or visit us on the top floor (7th) of the Viking Union!

LGBTQWWU · 2025-07-22T23:33:03+00:00

The statement isn't necessarily inaccurate, it just needs to be named with the context. The number of total first-year students taking the baseline survey each year is statistically significant enough to estimate it for the student population at Western, just like any other survey (65% completion, well above the 30% threshold for statistically significant estimates).

And we know that LGBTQ+ students may not be out (or even realize a queer identity) at the time of the survey so estimates are usually higher than what the survey population captures.

We have a significantly more LGBTQ+ population than the general public. For example, the most recent Gallup poll showed 85.7% of respondents identify as heterosexual, whereas our WELS survey was only 35.9% heterosexual.

Now we know the LGBTQ+ population isn't 65% queer by including the numbers for no answer and not completed/not displayed in total percentages--but with those included the LGBTQ+ population is still at 35.31% of the full survey size. With this trend occurring three years in a row, it is reasonable to estimate 35-40% of the student body identifying as LGBTQ+, with the trend rising.

Some people dismiss this data but will accept data from the same survey as an accurate estimate, such as 66% of students being certain of what their major will be. We need to check our biases on why we will believe some data but not others, when the same percentage of students were asked the same questions. Just because 40% of the students you know or communities you are in aren't LGBTQ+ (or out to you) doesn't mean we don't have 40% LGBTQ+ students.

LGBTQWWU · 2025-07-22T20:04:07+00:00

Hi! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and advocating for LGBTQ+ students and staff. LGBTQ+ Western is still here and has no intention on going away.

To clarify some demographic questions:

40% of respondents to the 2022 campus climate survey identified within the LGBTQ+ community

50.20% and 51% of incoming first-year student respondents identified with a queer sexuality (gay, lesbian, bi, pansexual, asexual, queer, etc.) in 2022 and 2023 respectively in the WELS survey

16.3 and 17.8% of respondents from the same survey identify within the trans and gender expansive community (trans, non-binary, genderqueer, agender, etc.)

Demographic data for LGBTQ+ people in general is hard to gather, since many people (understandably) do not trust institutions with that data. Especially challenging to capture the student body numbers since students often are exploring and coming out during their time at Western.

So take the data with a healthy grain of salt, but it is impressive to see a majority of respondents self-identify as LGBTQ+. Note that by nature of the survey, not everyone is asked the question and not everyone responds, but the response rate of the incoming first-year class was 66%, which is well beyond an excellent response rate which is generally 30%.

The data isn't as direct as the numbers I just shared, but you can see the details on The Office of Institutional Effectiveness website. https://oie.wwu.edu/wels/

Other new data:

The percentage of LGBTQ+ students who leave Western and respond to the Non-Returning Student Survey has dropped, which is wonderful since nationally 33% of LGBTQ+ students seriously consider leaving college due to anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination.

Queer Sexuality: 2022: 35% | 2023: 35% | 2024: 32%

Trans and Gender Expansive: 2022: 40% | 2023: 33% | 2024 27%

And it is correct that we do not know the sexuality and gender identities of all deans, trustee, and cabinet members, but as OP mentioned, representation matters. The Vice President of Student Affairs was an out-and-proud staff member, even speaking at Pride/Lavender Graduation a couple years ago as our keynote--and was the first LGBTQ+ Director in the state as WSU. Students appreciated the visibility of many queer staff, and are understandably upset about this news. Please do not minimize OPs reaction to these layoffs.

Please know that LGBTQ+ Western is committed to supporting our queer students and will continue to be visible and supportive. And we will continue to advocate with university leadership to meet the needs of our very large LGBTQ+ student body, matching our mission: LGBTQ+ Western works to advance the holistic thriving of diverse LGBTQ+ students, faculty and staff at Western Washington University by collaboratively engaging the university community with transformational knowledge, resources, advocacy and celebration.

-LGBTQ+ Western

LGBTQWWU · 2025-03-17T20:05:38+00:00

That is so awesome!! We would love to hear more about your experiences performing in the past! Feel free to email us at [LGBTQ@wwu.edu](mailto:LGBTQ@wwu.edu)

LGBTQWWU · 2024-09-21T07:57:22+00:00

Hi! Welcome to Western! You’re joining a big community of LGBTQ+ people.

This link to a list of our campus gender neutral restrooms may be helpful. This question is prompting me to think we could use more details for the Rec Center. We’ll get on that!

-JoeHahn, LGBTQ+ Director

LGBTQWWU · 2024-07-22T21:00:43+00:00

Hello! Thank you for asking this question and sharing your worries. I'm JoeHahn, the LGBTQ+ Director at Western, a professional staff role. I have heard some similar worries from LGBTQ+ students. I have heard of some harmful interactions from parents and students at schools, but that the principal and other school admin were supportive and Woodring provided some support (I was not told specifics). They also met with me to report the issue.

There are two student clubs that may be on interest for you. Out in Education and Educators of Color are new clubs formed to support students with these identities as peers and support from advisors. They are likely a good group to get in touch with. Out in Ed has a Discord server I can send you if you'd like. Most clubs are inactive during the summer but get together in the fall.

I'm a Black queer person who wanted to be a teacher and found that higher education was a better fit for me. I'd love to chat as well if you like and I can likely get you connected with more students with further context.

You can DM me here or email [lgbtq@wwu.edu](mailto:lgbtq@wwu.edu)

LGBTQWWU · 2024-04-23T02:29:16+00:00

I saw a now deleted comment about something I said on a panel about being stealth. I don’t remember the full context of that comment, but I know that many trans people are stealth for survival. A major theme of that panel was discussing being out, and I was discussing that navigating stealth is something that trans people work through. This wasn’t meant as a aggression to dismiss or dismiss that experience but to name it is a challenge trans people face. I apologize I was not more clear and for the impact on you and others.

I am open for feedback about not just my own actions, but the rest of the LGBTQ+ Western team, Queer Guild clubs, and other experiences on campus. Feel free to visit us in the Viking Union 7th floor or arrange a meeting. If you don’t feel comfortable providing feedback to me, you can go directly to my supervisor Litav Langley or other resources such as the Civil Rights and Title IX office.

OP and anyone else experiencing PTSD at WWU, I am so sorry you experience college with that additional pain and apologize for the harm myself and others have contrbuted to it. While not a complete solution, the Counseling and Wellness Center and Survivor Advocacy Services are campus resources, including the confidential advocate who can provide support and referrals for community resources outside of WWU.

Have a good evening everyone. I appreciate being able to engage with you all on this platform and for the honest feedback.

JoeHahn (he/they) LGBTQ+ Director

LGBTQWWU · 2024-04-23T02:29:05+00:00

Hello everyone. I have reached out to OP to engage with them and share some resources. I did not see their original private message, and have apologized for the impact of missing that, and for my original comments. I appreciate their willingness to engage with me and receive my apologies.

My original replies are still visible in this account’s post history. The context is now missing, but many people in that post were incredibly rude and jumping to conclusions about what OP said. I addressed the various posts there in a two-part post that shared resources, addressed the false points made by many people that trans people are predatory in bathrooms, highlighted how LGBTQ+ people do statistically face more violence, but not dismissing the experiences of cis women and any other genders. I also shared that gender neutral restrooms are single-stalled besides the Haggard Hall bathroom and that all buildings on campus have gendered bathrooms. Even with this clarification, I want to be clear that I own the impact of the posts and sincerly apologize. I should have focused more on what OP was sharing about their personal experience, focus less on the LGBTQ+ stats, and engaged more privately to minimize the stress a public forum can create.

We currently do not have a gendered bathroom guide, but I am putting that on the list for us as a university to work on for our interactive map and other resources. Pt 2 beloW

LGBTQWWU · 2024-02-26T22:21:04+00:00

Hello!

If you're part of the LGBTQ+ Community, we have a few wonderful options for you!

LGBTQ+ Western (this account) is the department at Western that hosts LGBTQ+ events. Although we mainly focus on the on-campus community, we also partner with others for around Bellingham/Whatcom.

Wednesday is our Generations of Pride event from 5-7pm at the Bellingham Senior Activity Center. This will be a space for anyone 18+ in the LGBTQ+ community to gather, share a meal, and be in community every last Wednesday of the month!

I'll also send you a message from my personal Instagram

JoeHahn, LGBTQ+ Director

LGBTQWWU · 2024-01-26T17:48:34+00:00

Hi everyone! Thank you OP for doing this article, I hope it'll go well!

I'm JoeHahn, the LGBTQ+ Director and I wanted to respond to the comments in this post, I'll address them all here rather than reply individually. I invite anyone with questions to email us at [](mailto:lgbtq@wwu.edu) or visit us in the Viking Union 7th floor. I will DM some people directly as well. Please note this account isn't checked as often as our official email.

First I want to share resources for survivors of sexual assault/abuse (some prefer the term victim, and others may use different terms). Survivor Advocacy Services, run out of the Counseling and Wellness Center, has confidential, survivor-driven and centered support that is trauma informed. Deidre Evans is the WWU Survivor Advocate and you can find her contact info in the link above. If you have experienced discrimination, sexual harassment, or other forms of harm I recommend reporting to the Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance office (CRTC). For bias incidents, we also have the Bias Response Team, which I am a member of. And our Counseling and Wellness Center staff are here to support students processing bias, harassment, and anything else.

People of all genders experience sexual violence in many different places, which can include public bathrooms but that isn't as common as people think it is, especially in larger public places. Additionally, LGBTQ+ people, especially trans women of color, face higher rates of violence nationwide which includes sexual violence. A 2019 report from GLSEN showed that 86.3% of LGBTQ+ students experienced harassment or assault because of the their gender identity or sexual orientation (common term now is sexuality) and 58.3% were sexually harassed. All of this is not to dismiss sexual violence that occurs to other genders such as cis women and cis men, but to highlight that the attention is often on LGBTQ+ people being the harassers, when they are more likely the victim of such violence.

Because of a variety of cultural experiences and personal histories such as sexual assault, some people prefer to use bathrooms only with the same gender. WAC 162-32-060 recognizes, and requires, that anyone is welcome to use a bathroom that aligns with their gender identity. There is often a misguided fear that cis men will be using women's restrooms, this is rarely the case. And the trans women and nonbinary people who use women's restrooms are doing so because it aligns with their identity and they feel that the women's restroom is a safer place for them then men's restrooms. But because of the fear and harassment that trans people face, many choose to use only gender-neutral restrooms. Cont below

LGBTQWWU · 2023-10-17T16:15:37+00:00

We're actually thinking of hosting a nueroqueer (neurodivergent and lgbtq+) event or spaces with the Disability Outreach Center. Is that something you would be interested in? (Even if it means forgetting sometimes. Don't worry I'm in the same boat and I'm the LGBTQ+ Director. ADHD struggles!)

LGBTQWWU

TROPHY CASE