There are a myriad of ways undergraduate students are involved in LGBTQ+ initiatives and culture at Cornell. Our number one goal is assisting you as you journey through your undergraduate tenure at Cornell. Within the LGBT Resource Center, you can access support, find connections, expand your knowledge and find a home within the larger University community.
You are invited to join in our programs, student organizations, events, leadership opportunities and discussion groups which are all designed to support your academic and social success.
Meet with the Director or Assistant Director one-on-one for direct support and help navigating campus resources.
Come to a discussion group and/or workshop to talk, listen and learn.
Explore the ways our campus serves the LGBTQ+ community and find supportive Allies everywhere.
Join a student organization or come to one of our events.
Undergraduate Student Organizations
Haven (click to expand for individual suborganizations)
Haven: The LGBTQ Student Union seeks to enrich Cornell University by supporting its diverse array of sexual and gender identities and expressions. Through education, outreach, and service, we promote understanding and the development of inclusive communities. Haven serves as an administrative umbrella for most of the undergraduate (though generally open to graduate and professional students as well) student organizations involved in the support and outreach to LGBTQ students at Cornell. Haven provides a vehicle for these groups to secure funding and on-going training, and consultation with professional staff. Haven collaborates with other Cornell groups to address the social support needs of students.
ACE is a student-run social support group for individuals of the Cornell community who identify as ace, ace-questioning aro, or aro-questioning. ACE provides its members with a support network and a safe space to meet and discuss ace & aro related issues and experiences. ACE is also dedicated to developing the ace community at Cornell and improving visibility and availability of information surrounding the ace community. Email: aceFacilitator.Cornell@gmail.com or join Campus Groups via the link above.
Bicons is dedicated to creating a fun and supportive environment for bi+ individuals at Cornell. We strive to educate our members about issues concerning the bi+ community, highlight bisexuality in the media, and help foster friendships within our group. Email: bicons.cornell@gmail.com or join Campus Groups via the link above.
We provide an educational space for Cornell students to explore safe, responsible, and consensual kink and BDSM practices. Weekly meetings consist of educational group discussions on an array of kink and BDSM-related topics. Examples of discussion topics include establishing consent, safe rope bondage technique, kink in the media, impact play, and relationship structures. The discussion format allows members to voice their ideas, questions, and concerns with each other in a nonjudgmental setting. Email: cornellcrunch@gmail.com or join Campus Groups via the link above.
A confidential peer run social, support, and event planning organization for lesbian, bisexual, queer, questioning and transwomen on campus.
LOTUS (currently inactive)
LOTUS (Loving Others Through Unity & Support) is a group for anyone in the Cornell community interested in coming together around issues of being male and gay, bisexual, or transgender. One objective is to reach out to other members of the LGBTQ community and the broader Cornell and Ithaca communities.
MOSAIC: For Same Gender Loving People of Color and Allies is a peer social support organization for LGBTQ people of color and allies. Mosaic’s social goals include giving QTPOC and allies a place to belong, weekly meeting, supporting QTPOC speakers to come to campus, and organizing activities and events geared towards awareness. Email: cumosaic@gmail.com or join Campus Groups via the link above.
Social/ cultural group for LGBTQ+ and Asian-, Pacific Islander-, & Desi-American students. Email: oasiscornell@gmail.com or join Campus Groups via the link above.
The goal of this organization is to provide support to LGBTQ+ students of Cornell University who are interested in STEM fields through providing social and/or professional networking opportunities and social and/or professional development events. Email: cornellqpic@gmail.com or join Campus Groups via the link above.
We are dedicated to giving representation to the Queer community. We want to give Queer voices a platform where they can speak to their own experiences and explore intersectionality with other communities. Email: queermagz@gmail.com or join Campus Groups via the link above.
The purpose of QPA shall be to support LGBTQ+ and POC undergraduate pre-health students as they pursue a career or graduate-level education in the health field. Email: qpacornell@gmail.com or join Campus Groups via the link above.
TANGO (Transgender, Agender, Non-Binary, Genderqueer, Other) TANGO's mission is to create a space where transgender, agender, nonbinary, genderqueer, and other students with similar and non-cisgender identities and who are questioning their gender identity can meet, get support, and build community. Email: tango@cornell.edu or join Campus Groups via the link above.
This group was started in the hopes of supporting individuals at Cornell as they transition medically and legally. We hope to provide both community and information to our group members. In this group, we will address current events relevant to the transgender community, discuss legal and medical information on topics such as surgeries, hormones, and name and gender marker changes. We will also have opportunities as a group to hear from both mental and medical health professionals from Cornell Health’s transgender care team. Questions or interest can be directed to our organizational email transitioning@cornell.edu.
Founded in 2019, Queer Professional Community (QPC) strives to create a safe community for LGBTQ+ students interested in business, law, medicine, and engineering by hosting professional and social events that allow members to connect with fellow students and industry leaders while advocating on behalf of LGBTQ+ voices across campus.
Crass: A Queer Student Zine
The purpose of Crass as an organization is to publish a Zine featuring art, poetry, essays, writings, and other works by queer students at Cornell. As a publication, we aim to always be Personal, Powerful, and Political, as well as anti-racist, anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, and to fight for restorative justice and liberation through the creation of art. Crass must not shy away from difficult subjects of sex, sexuality, race, class, disability, or gender, among others, and must always aim to confront those who are powerful with the reality of their privilege. For more information about this organization reach out through email at: crasszine@gmail.com
The Loving House aims to enhance the intellectual and cultural environment of Cornell University regarding issues pertaining to the experiences of the LGBTQ+ and allied communities. The Loving House promotes the development of critical, engaged, and responsible LGBTQIA+ scholars, activists, and community leaders at various levels of experience. In addition to creating an LGBTQ+ living space that is inclusive to all intersections of identity, the Loving House embraces honest and frank dialogues about sex, sexuality, romanticism, gender identity and expression, community development, cross-cultural understanding, and the intersections of identity.
Gender Inclusive Housing Options
Click here to visit Housing and Residential Life's page with information about gender-inclusive housing options
Graduate Students
The LGBT Resource Center provides advice and support to graduate students on personal, academic, and co-curricular issues. There are also a variety of ways for graduate students to get involved in LGBTQ+ initiatives and culture at Cornell. Within the LGBT Resource Center, you can access support, find connections, volunteer, expand your knowledge and find a home within the larger University community.
You are invited to explore our programs, organizations, events, leadership opportunities and discussion groups which are all designed to support your academic and social success
Meet with the Director or Assistant Director one-on-one for direct support and help navigating campus resources.
Come to a discussion group and/or workshop to talk, listen and learn.
Explore the ways our campus serves the LGBTQ+ graduate community and find supportive Allies everywhere.
Join a graduate student organization or come to one of our events.
Graduate Student Organizations
Cornell University has a variety of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Queer (LGBTQ) oriented organizations. There is a wealth of student run graduate organizations that tackle both political and social issues affecting the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning students and their allies.
QGrads is a graduate student organization focused on building a strong queer community at Cornell, by creating spaces for graduate students of all sexual orientations and gender identities to feel seen, heard, and supported. We serve approximately 150 graduate students in various fields of study, with exciting programs throughout the year including professional development events, community discussions, and social gatherings. In addition to planning events and programming that promote personal and professional development of LGBTQIA+ graduate students, we work with other organizations at Cornell to [tk]. We are affiliated with the Office of Inclusion and Student Engagement (OISE), the LGBT Resource Center (LGBTRC), and Diversity Programming in Engineering (DPE) at Cornell University.
OutLaw
Lambda is Cornell Law School's organization for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) and Straight Ally students on campus. Lambda hosts speaker series on issues relevant to the LGBTQ legal community, provides a mentorship program for 1L students, organizes networking opportunities with alums and LGBTQ professors on campus, and serves as a voice for the LGBTQ community at Cornell Law. All Cornell students are encouraged to come and participate at their speaker events. If you are interested in cosponsoring an event or organizing a social mixer, please contact them through their Facebook page.
Out For Business (O4B) is the Johnson School's gay-straight alliance and includes members of the LGBT community, people with friends and/or family in the LGBT community and anyone who sees the importance in creating an attractive work and social environment for current and prospective LGBT students, faculty and staff. Their activities include:
Hosting social events for the entire Johnson School community
Recruiting LGBT prospective students
Establishing ties with corporate LGBT employee groups
Participating in national LGBT business conferences
Socializing with the larger Cornell LGBT student community
Broad Spectrums
The Broad Spectrum Veterinary chapter at Cornell aims to empower LGBTQ+ veterinary students and enlighten the student body on issues regarding gender, sex, and sexual orientation.
Project Biodiversify
People – including students and biologists – exhibit a diverse set of backgrounds and identities. However, most biology students are not exposed to a diversity of role models in the field of biology, and many students are taught about biology in a way that (often unintentionally) does not feel inclusive to them or their communities.
Project Biodiversify is here to help! We are a group that promotes the humanization, diversification, and inclusivity of biology classrooms. email: biodiversifyatcornell@gmail.com
Within our libraries, we have a world renowned Human Sexuality Collection, which seeks to preserve and make accessible primary sources that document historical shifts in the social construction of sexuality, with a focus on U.S. lesbian and gay history and the politics of pornography.
Prospective Students
Finding the Right Fit: Undergraduate or Graduate
What makes an LGBTQ-friendly campus? The question is a very personal one. Each undergraduate and graduate student needs to evaluate their prospective university or college with their own interests and sense of what makes LGBTQ campus life appealing.We encourage you to review our programs and our resource pages to gain a better sense of the Cornell University LGBTQ+ community. To see the types of programs regularly offered and to view a current semester calendar, visit the upcoming events LINK page. It may also be helpful to review opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students on campus. There are more than 20 undergraduate and graduate LGBTQ+ groups on campus here to assist you in finding a home at Cornell.
Cornell also has a number of different resources for people interested in the study of human sexuality and gender. Within our Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (FGSS) department, we have a program in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Studies. Within our libraries, we have a world renowned Human Sexuality Collection, which seeks to preserve and make accessible primary sources that document historical shifts in the social construction of sexuality, with a focus on U.S. lesbian and gay history and the politics of pornography.
Please also consider reaching out to Cortney Johnson, Associate Dean of Students and Director of the LGBT Resource Center, who can answer many of the questions you might have about LGBTQ+ life on campus. They will be able to refer you to current students, staff, and faculty with whom you may share similar values, backgrounds, and/or concerns.
If you are able to visit our Ithaca campus, we encourage you to stop by the LGBT Resource Center in the Center for Intercultural Dialogue at 626 Thurston Avenue. The LGBT Resource Center is equipped to provide many different services, depending on the needs of individuals.
Below is a brief list of some the programs and services we offer:
