While libations might serve as a facilitator for many students’ dating lives, others find the playing field to be trickier than a drink order.
Myriah Hankins, a junior studying history and geography who identifies as gay, said that dating life for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students is inherently more difficult, though she thinks Ohio University is overall LGBT-friendly.
“I mean, you can’t go to a bar and expect to find another person, another gay person, easily,” Hankins said. “When heterosexual people go to the bars, they can assume 90 to 95 percent of people there are interested in the opposite sex.”
Hankins said the most popular bars to meet others in the LGBT community are Casa Nueva, 4 W. State St., and The Union, 18 W. Union St.
The former often serves as the venue for Open Doors Dance Night, a monthly event sponsored by the OU Open Doors organization.
“A large group of us go to dollar-shot night every Tuesday,” Hankins said. “Casa is, I guess, considered the gayer bar in Athens.”
The Union often plays host to various drag shows, said Heidi Sanderson, a sophomore studying health administration. Sanderson identifies as pansexual, which means she is attracted to male, female and transgender individuals.
Sanderson said that although she enjoys paying weekend visits to both The Union and Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery, 24 W. Union St., the majority of her dating life doesn’t stem from the bar scene.
“Generally speaking, I already know everybody prior to going to bars,” Sanderson said. “Open Doors is where you meet a lot of people who fall into the LGBT (community).”
In addition to Open Doors, some LGBT students find dating opportunities and general support at the LGBTA Center in 354 Baker University Center.
Brandon Bleau, a freshman studying computer science and technology who identifies as gay, said he met his partner in the LGBTA Center not long after coming to OU.
Student Senate LGBT Commissioner Amelia Shaw said the center, along with gender-neutral housing, are aspects that sets OU apart from other LGBT-friendly campuses.
“Compared to other campuses in Ohio, I would say we’re pretty LGBT-friendly — probably one of the most out of public universities in Ohio,” Shaw said.
OU earned 4.5 stars out of 5 from the Campus Climate Index, a tool that ranks campuses based on how LGBT-friendly they are.
According to the site, the score is based on “a continuum of progress for inclusive LGBT and Ally policies, programs and practices.”
Ohio State University and Oberlin College are the only two colleges in Ohio ranked on the site that received all five stars.
Bleau said the LGBTA Center makes him feel as if he’s in a “bubble within a bubble,” explaining that even his first glance at OU’s LGBT community was a positive experience.
“When I first came (to OU), the first thing I saw was a rainbow flag on a church,” Bleau said. “I was just like, ‘Score.’ ”
sg409809@ohiou.edu
