Rutgers University - Newark

“Well I would say it (the environment for gay students at Rutgers in 1989) was capricious. There were just pockets of great support but it was like a minefield trying to find them.” (Louie Crew Clay 3) Rutgers Newark is one of the three major campuses for New Jersey’s State University, Rutgers University. 

Unlike many of the other locations that you will find on this map, Rutgers Newark has a somewhat complicated history with the LGBTQ community. In the past, Rutgers was progressive in some ways, being one of the first universities in the United States to post an anti-harassment statement about gay and lesbian people. Rutgers also hired James Credle, a gay man, to be one of their deans. However, there were numerous instances throughout Rutgers’ history of its student body discriminating against LGBTQ students and faculty. When Louie Crew Clay, a gay man who was a Rutgers professor, accidentally outed himself, he was accosted by a student. A Rutgers dean offered to have the student suspended or expelled. Clay, however, choose to educate the young man about the LGBTQ community.

Today, Rutgers Newark has numerous resources available for its LGBTQ students to feel comfortable and included at the university. The Queer Newark Oral History Project, the resource that this project is based on, is housed at the Department of History at Rutgers Newark. All three of the people who have contributed to this project are currently students at the university. According to Marina Carreira, Rutgers Newark is one of the largest LGBTQ spaces in the city. However, Aaron Frazier blames the university for bringing an increased police presence and gentrifying certain parts of the city. Rutgers Newark remains a controversial LGBTQ space in Newark.

Some of the LGBTQ related services that Rutgers Newark offers to its students include: a counseling center, information about how to change your name RU Pride, student health services, Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance, LGBTQ+ Raiders: Peer to Peer Support Program, and a webpage on MyRun. 

Rutgers Newark is the largest university in the city of Newark. College towns have, traditionally, been areas that are more socially progressive than the rest of society. Rutgers Newark, as New Jersey’s State University, is no different. Today, Rutgers has an extremely welcoming environment for its LGBTQ students. Besides all of the services mentioned in the previous paragraph, Rutgers Newark also offers a number of classes related to LGBTQ issues. These classes help educate students who, coming out of traditional school systems, are probably not that familiar with queer related issues. This, combined with all of the resources that Rutgers offers, has made the Rutgers LGBTQ community feel supported and educated about themselves.

LGBTQ Student Resources, Rutgers University - Newark. Accessed May 12th 2021. https://myrun.newark.rutgers.edu/lgbtq.

Louie Crew Clay, Queer Newark Oral History Project. Accessed May 12th 2021. https://queer.newark.rutgers.edu/interviews/louie-crew-clay.

Marina Carreira, Queer Newark Oral History Project. Accessed May 12th 2021. https://queer.newark.rutgers.edu/interviews/marina-carreira.

James Credle, Queer Newark Oral History Project. Accessed May 12th 2021. https://queer.newark.rutgers.edu/interviews/james-credle.

Aaron Frazier, Queer Newark Oral History Project. Accessed May 12th 2021. https://queer.newark.rutgers.edu/interviews/aaron-frazier.