The community of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning students at Beloit is active, passionate, and strong — and faculty and staff pride themselves on being their students’ biggest advocates.

We strive to provide a welcoming environment for our LGBTQIA+ students, now and in the future.

Inclusive living

Beloit’s Office of Residential Life supports inclusive housing in many forms. While most dorms are fully gender-inclusive, students meet with their Resident Assistant (RA) every semester to discuss community norms, including each dorm floor’s gender designation as all-male, all-female, or gender-inclusive, based on the preference of residents.

• Aldrich, Blaisdell, and the basement of Emerson have single-stall bathroom options.
• Most academic buildings have at least one all-gender bathroom.
• All bathrooms in the Powerhouse are fully accessible, single-stall, and gender-inclusive, and the Morse Library, Pearsons basement, and the Wright Museum of Art have gender-inclusive bathrooms.
• Residential Life staff and RAs guide students through their four years living on campus through programming, group bonding, and individualized support.

Institutional support

Multiple campus offices directly support LGBTQIA+-related events, organizations, and individuals.

• Student Success, Equity and Community (SSEC) partners with student organizations to support events celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community.
• The Student Engagement and Leadership (SEAL) office oversees clubs and organizations, student government, Greek life, and more, helping groups host dozens of inclusive events throughout the year.

Training and support groups are also available for faculty and staff members. In collaboration with the Weissberg program, SSEC provides Safe Zone training to faculty, staff and students. The project creates a safe space for educating each other about intersectional topics of race, gender, and sexuality, which faculty and staff employ when interacting with diverse communities on campus.

An affinity group that supports LGBTQIA+ faculty and staff members has also created a sense of community for employees.

“The Beloit College community — including students, staff, and faculty — takes on the task of building the community and social climate we want and deserve. We really look out for each other and support each other in ways that I haven’t seen elsewhere.” - Joseph Derosier, assistant professor of French

Student organizations and programming

Beloit has many organizations, clubs, and affinity groups that identify with or ally with various genders and sexualities, some of which have existed at the college for decades. These include (but are not limited to):

• Feminist Collective (FemCo) special-interest house and club (@beloit_femco)
• Sexual and Gender Alliance (SAGA) special-interest house and club (@beloitcollegesaga)
• Sexual Health and Reproductive Choice Coalition (SHARCC) club
• Substance-Free Programming and Innovative Entertainment League (SPIEL) special-interest house and club
• Trans Experience and Advocacy Association (TEAA) club (@beloit_teaa)
• Theta Pi Gamma house and sorority (@thetapigamma)

These houses and organizations host well-attended individual and collaborative events every year, from drag shows and Pride events to speakers and Rush events. Transgender Awareness Week in November 2022 involved a panel discussion, an art gallery exhibition, a keynote speaker, and a drag brunch, along with other activities.

Groups partner with student government and offices like SSEC and SEAL to bolster their programming, budgets, and planning capacity.