UCF listed among top 50 most LGBT-friendly colleges and universities

Orlando – Campus Pride released is annual “Campus Pride Top LGBT-Friendly Colleges & Universities” listing for 2014 and the UCF Knights made the cut.

The University of Central Florida graced the list of institutions of higher learning that were considered the most LGBT-friendly, making it the only school in Florida to appear on the list. Normally, Campus Pride releases a “Top 25 List,” but this year was the first year it released the fifty “Best of the Best.”

A report from Campus Pride stated that a university of college must receive a five stars overall rating and achieve the highest percentages from eight benchmarks that grade the school’s LGBT-friendliness based on “policy, program and practice.”

UCF opened its doors to LGBTQ Services in 2011 and also announced in December 2012 the opening of Pride Commons — a communal area with services for LGBT students on campus — in coordination with Pride Coalition starting on campus.

After a dispute between the UCF Student Body Senate and Pride Coalition over the misuse of funds, the Senate voted Feb. 27 to terminate Pride Coalition as Student Government Association agency, restructuring it as a committee under the Multicultural Student Center (MSC). LGBTTQ Services and Pride Commons still exist on campus, while Pride Coalition was disbanded.

UCF also held its first Pride event, Knight Pride, in October 2013.

The Campus Pride Index was constructed to help inform LGBT students at schools across the nation with comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the safety and academic life on various campuses.

The list isn’t ranked in any particular order and includes other universities such as Princeton, Harvard and Rutgers.

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