Members of the Pride Club met with President Patrick Leahy, Ed.D. on Oct. 6 to discuss how Monmouth University can work with LGBTQIA+ students to improve the campus climate, and feel more accepted on campus.
The meeting was scheduled after the Pride Club learned about The Princeton Review’s “The Best 391 Colleges, 2026,” which named Monmouth University 16th on the list of LGBTQ-unfriendly colleges.
After The Outlook published a story about the Princeton ranking, a number of readers asked specific questions about methodology used in the ranking system.
According to Jeanne Krier, Publicist for The Princeton Review, on average, about 435 students answer the survey from each of the 391 colleges in the book. Their responses are used to compile the lists, including the LGBTQ-unfriendly ranking.
The ranking casts a negative light on campus climate overall, but specifically as it relates to LGBTQIA+ community. However, President Leahy does not believe the ranking actually reflects Monmouth’s values. “I was very disappointed to see our University included on this list, which in no way reflects our shared institutional values. We work to foster a campus environment where differences are celebrated, and where members of the LGBTQIA+ community are included and valued.”
Members of the Pride Club executive board, including president Tyler Gillis and secretary Valentine Miller attended the meeting with Leahy.
Gillis, a junior anthropology major, said, “The main concerns we brought up were lack of education and lack of visibility. We talked about how queer students don’t feel comfortable taking up space on campus and President Leahy was very saddened to hear that.”
Following the meeting, President Leahy said, “My meeting earlier this week with members of the Pride Club was very productive. I appreciated hearing first-hand about their lived experience at Monmouth, as well as their recommendations for change within our university community. The senior team and I will carefully consider these suggestions and, together with our student leaders, will work towards making Monmouth the institution that we aspire to be.”
The Pride Club suggested flying a pride flag during Monmouth University’s homecoming game on Oct. 18, and Gillis said that President Leahy was receptive to the idea.
Gillis wants Monmouth students to recognize their commonalities. Gillis said, “… We just want to remind everyone that we are people too. We did not ask to be queer. We did not ask to go against the grain of society. If someone truly doesn’t have the capacity to accept us, please just leave us alone. Don’t write on YikYak that we’re ‘mental freaks’ who ‘need a job.’ We are not harming anyone by being queer, but making fun of a vulnerable group in a time where the media is already painting us as villains is incredibly harmful and costly.”
YikYak is a social networking app where users can post short messages anonymously, which are visible to people on the app that fall within a limited radius, like a college campus. People can join one college community that matches their .edu email.
This is not the first time Monmouth minority students have been targeted on social media, specifically YikYak. As we reported in Feb. 2022 there was an incident involving YikYak posts targeting minority students at Monmouth. At the time President Leahy stated, “Monmouth University is committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive campus where everyone feels safe, valued and respected. Hate has no place on our campus, nothing posted on platforms can ever be fully anonymous, and discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated.”
More recently The Outlook reported on hate speech targeting LGBTQIA+ students involving members of the Monmouth University College Republicans club.
These instances, despite the stated values of mutual respect by the administration, point to a larger and consistent struggle to make minority students feel accepted and respected on campus.
LGBTQIA+ students feel that, after this meeting with President Leahy, their concerns are at least heard this time. Gillis said, “I believe our concerns were heard. Whether something will be done about it is a different story. However, we are determined to see change and will not give up. President Leahy does seem to be open to change and I believe that if we keep pushing forward we can really make the Monmouth campus better for everyone.”
Jennifer Ross, Director of the Honors School shares a similar sentiment to Gillis. She said, “Working toward solutions of any kind stems from open dialogue and active listening. At a university, you always want to make a habit of talking with students to discuss the realities of university-life and the issues that are currently playing a role in their experience. To strengthen our University community, it will be important to talk with our LGBTQ+ students to best determine how to best bridge the gap and foster the welcoming place that Monmouth strives to be for all of its community members. I know there is great support for this in all facets of University life – from administration to faculty to staff – as well as wonderful student-leaders on campus, like Tyler Gillis, the Pride Club president, who are eloquent and thoughtful in their approach to building bridges toward a more inclusive campus.”
It is clear that change in campus culture is needed, and this dialogue with the administration is offering glimpses of hope. “I feel optimistic. There are a lot of people on campus that want to see change, not just the people that attended the meeting. With so many people on board, change doesn’t feel impossible, it feels tangible. I think if we keep going as we are, we can really start to see a shift. I just hope other students are open to it happening,” Gillis said.
