LGBTQIA students are an important stakeholder group on college and university campuses, especially as both their visibility and expectations for support and empowerment on campus increase. But how ready is higher education for litigation related to LGBTQIA issues and how should student affairs practitioners prepare to address LGBTQIA students’ possible negative campus experiences proactively? This session will delve into three legal areas and their impact on LGBTQIA students’ rights and experiences.

This study examines how LGBTQ+ resources and experiences in college shape students’ sexual identity development experience. The central question guiding this study is: how are students’ experiences of sexual identity development shaped during college in the context of their engagement with LGBTQ+ resources, supports, and experiences? This study seeks to examine the proposed educational problem by centering stories of students who intentionally sought a college environment they perceived to be supportive and inclusive of LGBTQ+ students.