Gay? Straight? Transgender? Bi? Check The Box On Your College Application!

[Shana A]

Gay? Straight? Transgender? Bi? Check The Box On Your College Application!
posted by: Judy Molland 14 hours ago

http://www.care2.com/causes/education/blog/gay-straight-transgender-bi-check-the-box-on-your-college-application/

In future, students applying for college could be asked to declare their sexual orientation as part of the admissions process, according to Channel Five News in Nashville, TN.

Administrators of The Common Application have proposed that in addition to answering questions about race, ethnicity, religion, social class, and hometown, applicants could also be asked to check the box that defines their sexual orientation.

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What's going on here? How does the fact that a student is lesbian, gay, straight, heterosexual, or transgender affect that student's ability to learn? Not to mention, for most high schoolers, sexual orientation is a highly private matter, and may also be an excruciating one. Given the recent rash of LGBT bullying incidents, and their tragic consequences, this proposal seems particularly dangerous.

[Britney_413]

Most questions really don't belong on college applications let alone any application. I've never understood why so many places need to know everything about you. Not only should sexual orientation and gender identity not be on an application, gender and ethnicity should be removed as well as religion. I wouldn't even require a date of birth just a question "Are you over the age of 18?" or whatever. On some applications for other things I don't even see why a first and last name is required. The only questions that ever need to be asked on forms of any kind (whether school, work, or otherwise) are questions directly related to the purpose of the form in the first place. A name should only be needed if they need to identify you for future reasons.

I believe "diversity" in our society has been taken too far. Forced diversity in my opinion is as bad as forced segregation. People will naturally mix or not mix with others depending on their own choosing. In an attempt to diversify a school or business, they ask these questions but it results in discrimination as well just under a different form. Instead of deliberately separating people from each other such as the segregation of blacks and whites in public facilities it now is used often as a tool to force people to interact with other people. I don't believe forcing any type of socialization one way or another is good. Forced diversity often ends up becoming segregation as well. I'm transgender so if I were to put that on a college app. they would probably encourage me to join GLBT organizations on campus. What if I don't want to mix with them? What if I just want to blend in with the rest of the populace? Same with a black person. Campuses often have black cultural clubs or fraternities or similar organization which again leads to a form of segregation all under the disguise of diversity. This is 2010 people. Adults should be treated as adults and generally be left alone to do whatever it is they want to do. As an adult I value my privacy, my freedom, and my personal space.

I just recently went full time (being discussed in another thread) and one of my fears (which I'll elaborate on later in that thread) is not unacceptance but over-acceptance or what I will call forced acceptance. Just think about these points for a moment. I don't want society to hate us. I don't want society to forcibly be including and accepting us. I just want to be left alone to my own devices. Enough said.