This path was created by Anastacia Negron.
Finding Refuge: Inside and Outside of Lafayette’s Bubble
Introduction
At a college where queerness has historically been looked down upon, students in the LGBTQ+ community have struggled to feel at home. With admitting women in 1970, the college slowly started adjusting to the activist nature of the general college population, but ultimately still upheld the heteronormative ideals. At that time, campus was unsafe for women, let alone queer students and faculty. Throughout the years, the queer community at Lafayette has morphed not only in terms of safety, but in accessibility. There are more spaces on campus where students can find openly queer groups, however there continue to be places of refuge both inside and outside of the Lafayette community.While there may have not been a strong queer community at Lafayette in the past, queer people have existed since the start of the college. Lafayette overwhelmingly had a culture of Greek Life and Athletics, setting a hypermasculine tone for the college. These individuals had to navigate these heteronormative and homophobic spaces without the support from their peers. However, some individuals found refuge in these hostile environments due to their athletic ability or need to find community. Queer people exist in all spaces, not just ones that are explicitly queer. Due to the lack of official queer spaces, unofficial spaces existed where queer people could go to and be themselves without judgment from the outside. The Arts has historically been a place where queer people are able to openly express themselves without repercussions and it isn’t any different at Lafayette. In addition, the McKelvy House is a place where multiple scholars have found comfort and safety in a community of hostility. Sometimes, students would have to venture outside of the Lafayette community to find others to relate to, date, or feel seen. While Lafayette may have been extremely homophobic at the time, that doesn't mean the rest of the world was.
In this essay, I will be exploring places of refuge both inside and outside of the bubble that we call Lafayette College. More specifically, I will be looking at what makes “hostile” environments unsafe for students, and how individuals can find community in those spaces. In addition, I will be looking at the flaws within those unofficial “safe” queer spaces and how they may be exclusionary to other marginalized groups. Lastly, I will be exploring life outside Lafayette College, looking at how queer students can find community off campus.