Thanks to active clubs, supportive faculty and annual programs ranging from a “Guess the Hetero” game show to drag competitions to “Coming Out Week,” Oregon State University has been recognized as one of the nation’s top 100 campuses for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students.

“I think it’s good. I think it’s deserved. Students, faculty, staff and community members worked hard to get OSU where it is. This is a result of that commitment,” said Luke Sugie, a graduate student in applied ethics and a member of Rainbow Continuum, one of OSU’s oldest groups that supports lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered people.

“The Advocate College Guide for LGBT students,” released earlier this month, surveyed students at more than 5,000 universities, rating the colleges’ “gay point averages.”

Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus PrideNet and author of the guide, also conducted 500 online interviews with faculty and staff at post-secondary institutions.

The 100 campuses commended for their LGBT-supportive environments are not ranked within the guide. However, 20 campuses, including the University of Oregon, are highlighted in a more selective list.

In addition to Rainbow Continuum, OSU has other groups geared toward supporting students. The Associated Students of OSU also includes a queer affairs task force.

The Pride Center, which formerly shared space in the Women’s Center and now occupies a newly redecorated home on A Avenue, provides programs and support services for the gay community.

“It’s a place for people to enjoy a safe space away from things that happen in the real world,” said Matt Ryder, a junior majoring in bio-engineering and co-director of Rainbow Continuum.

In the last five years OSU has grown considerably in terms of the LGBT resources it offers, according to Steven Leider, program coordinator of LGBT outreach and services.

Part of that progress is a covenant signed last fall by OSU President Ed Ray and Pride Center leaders ensuring the center’s existence in perpetuity.

The university will never attempt to move, close or stop funding the Pride Center without first consulting the LGBT community. OSU is the only university in the country to have such an agreement with its LGBT resource center, Leider said.

The Pride Center has an annual budget of about $42,000, which comes from student fees.

The top three words to describe the LGBT environment at OSU, according to the guide, are active, supportive and festive. Graphic design, humanities and environmental sciences are commended as academic areas particularly supportive of the gay community.

Troy Fultz, a senior accounting major who, in addition to Ryder, co-directs Rainbow Continuum, said he was impressed by how visible the LGBT community is at OSU, compared to the Salem community college he formerly attended.

Eryn Bottens, a former OSU student, appreciates how Rainbow Continuum and other groups on campus aren’t limited to students.

“It’s open to anyone,” she said.

Although OSU has been commended for supporting its LGBT students, there are areas still needing improvement, Rainbow Continuum members said.

The group is working to expand services for transsexual and transgender students. They’re collaborating with the campus health center to provide hormone prescriptions and monitoring for students undergoing sex changes.

OSU will host its second annual “trans awareness” week Nov. 13 to 20.

According to Sugie, OSU’s support of its LGBT students is a natural extension of its commitment to various cultural groups on campus, as well as the Women’s Center.

These groups work together to improve the campus climate, said Tab Dansby, a junior majoring in technical theatre.

“Everybody helps carry water for each other. Everybody helps each other get what they need,” he said.

On the Net: For more information about OSU’s Pride Center, see http://oregonstate.edu/pridecenter/.

Mary Ann Albright covers higher education. She can be reached at maryann.albright@lee.net or 758-9518.