In one of the first studies of its kind, economist Christopher Carpenter looked at LGBT students and how they were doing in college relative to their peers.
The good news is that gay men taking their studies very seriously.
The bad news is that bisexual women don’t.
Such information would be “really relevant when considering college and university resource allocations,” he noted. “If (as the increased level of mentorship suggests) we found the positive effects for gay men were driven by access to gay/lesbian/bisexual resource centers, that might mean you should invest more in those centers.”
Or, at the very least, make sure they survive in an era of cutbacks.
“Clearly, gay/lesbian resource centers have become more prominent on campuses over the past couple of decades,” Carpenter noted. “We could be observing that effect. They may increase the connectedness of sexual minority students.”
What is interesting, however, is if the honors students keep coming from the LGBT students, administrators have a way to encourage funding of LGBT center on campus. Theoretically, at least.