MACHIAS, Maine — The University of Maine at Machias is one of the country's most inclusive campuses for students, faculty and staff who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer.
That according to the nationwide organization Campus Pride, which has named the school to its annual list of the top 25 most welcoming campuses in the nation.
Campus Pride has issued its rankings for the past seven years. And Melvin Adams, dean of student and enrollment services at the university, says the school also keeps close tabs on its own culture.
"Each year, we complete a Campus Pride survey about our policies on campus," he says.
Adams says student-led efforts that promote inclusiveness, such as the campus's 100 Percent Society, carry extra weight with the officials at Campus Pride, who review the surveys in deciding on the nation's most inclusive colleges and universities.
"I don't think people should be surprised by this," he says. "This campus has always been a hidden jewel, when it comes to the LGBTQ community. Being here on the coast, a lot of people think, you know, you may have that conservative nature. And really, it's a place where I think people know they can come. They can be who they are. So it shouldn't be a surprise that we have this rich culture and this recognition here in Machias."
While the school has made inclusiveness a priority for years now, Lois-Ann Kuntz says the campus drew special attention when it began hosting its annual Rainbow Ball Weekend several years ago.
"Where we bring high school students from all over the state, Kennebunkport to Caribou, to UMM for a weekend, where there's workshops and training and support," she says. "And a ball, a dance, where you can dress how you feel secure and be with who you want — for high school students. Around 200 kids attended last year's Rainbow Ball."
"Going to the ball itself, my freshman year, it felt like I'd finally found my group," says Alexandra Roberts, who graduated last May. At UMM, Roberts was head of the human rights-focused fraternity Omicron Delta Phi, where she led so-called "Safe Space" sensitivity trainings and worked on multiple Rainbow Balls.
"I recently had a job interview and I talked up Rainbow Ball for, I think, a solid two minutes," she says. "It's amazing to participate, in terms of helping LGBT youth. But it's also practical experience. I can use it as community involvement. So I got a lot out of helping with all of this."
By making this year's list of top 25 most LGBTQ-friendly campuses, UMM joins some elite company, including Ivy League schools Cornell, Penn and Princeton, small liberal arts colleges such as Williams and Macalester and big state schools such as the University of Oregon and Ohio State.