Fowl play in the Galapagos (photo: James Lopata)

A British academic is accusing BBC nature host David Attenborough of ignoring homosexual animal behavior in his documentaries.

The UK news organization The Sun reports that University of East Anglia Professor Brett Mills:

claims Sir David’s BBC documentaries focus on family values in animals and shun “alternative interpretations”.

Sir David, 86, described male chimps hugging as “friendly affection”, while male sandpiper birds filmed circling each other were being “aggressive”.

Mills told UK media outlet The Telegraph:

"The central role in documentary stories of pairing, mating and raising offspring commonly rests on assumptions of heterosexuality within the animal kingdom.

"This is despite a wealth of scientific evidence which demonstrates that many non-human species have complex and changeable forms of sexual activity, with heterosexuality only one of many possible options.”

Both news outlets said that the BBC declined to comment.

As if the more than 50,000 "It Gets Better" videos weren't enough to demonstrate to bullied LGBT teens that life improves — for the most part — after the acne years, a new scientific study proves the point with numbers.

From USAToday:

High school students who identify as lesbian, gay and bisexual tend to face higher rates of bullying in school than their heterosexual peers. But a new study suggests that things get better for these young people, with harassment declining as they get older and leave school.

The improvements, however, are relative for gay and bisexual boys, who face a greater likelihood of being victimized than heterosexual peers.

The full article can be accessed here.

As high school seniors around the country are completing their admission applications and zeroing in on the colleges they hope to attend next fall, LGBT-friendliness has risen as a factor in the decision-making process.

To aid in the process, we are posting an article that ran in the September/October 2012 issue of Boston Spirit magazine that looks at the way campuses are rated on LGBT issues, with a focus on schools in the Northeast.

One of the most comprehensive surveys is the Campus Climate Index (CCI). Of the 35 schools with CCI public ratings in the New England area, 19 have a rating of 4.5 or 5 stars; meaning that, although area colleges only account for 10 percent of the total schools on the survey, they account for almost 20 percent of the highest ranked schools.

How Proud is Your College?

Boston Spirit takes a close look at universities’ LGBT-friendliness ratings

By Alan Tran

“I had some bad experiences at other schools that I visited,” said Cory Hernandez, a junior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), “At Hamilton College, I didn’t really feel comfortable being queer. And at Wabash College, I felt extremely uncomfortable since I heard ‘fag’ and ‘gay’ quite frequently, and other homophobic remarks.”

Then Hernandez visited MIT. “I went to MIT’s Campus Preview Weekend in April and saw the Rainbow Lounge and learned about their programs, the Living Pink Guide, G@MIT, and other things, and was sold at that time,” Hernandez explained in an e-mail to Boston Spirit.

The 14th annual 2012 Reaching Out conference of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) graduate business school students is coming to Boston. The conference, which attracts more than 1000 students and industry professionals representing all sectors of the business community, from finance and marketing to government and the arts, provides a unique opportunity for LGBT students to network with Fortune 500 companies, business leaders and recruiters from across the globe. The 3 day event will be held at the Seaport Hotel World Trade Center in Boston October 18 – 20, 2012.

This year’s theme, “Together, Building Community” illustrates the conference’s mission to provide an inclusive environment for prospective and current LGBT MBA students to connect with LGBT professionals in a way that fosters personal and professional growth. This year’s keynote speaker is Dan Savage, founder of the “It Gets Better Campaign” a project that empowers members of the community to share stories on how and why life gets better to help prevent suicide among LGBT youth.

According to Kevin Smith, President of the Reaching Out LGBT MBA conference Board of Directors, the conference is a major catalyst in shaping the future of LGBT MBA students in the workplace. “Our organization is dedicated to promoting the acceptance and visibility of LGBT businesspeople and their interests in the work environment,” said Smith. “Through workshops, networking, social events, and career expos, we hope to further strengthen the LGBT network and engage leaders in discussions that will help us achieve full equality both in the US and abroad. Equality in the workplace begins in the classroom.”

The only student run MBA conference of its kind in the country, the Reaching Out LGBT MBA conference is organized by current LGBT MBA students from MIT Sloan, Yale School of Management, and Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. At this year’s conference more than 80 companies will be represented including Google, Southwest, Amazon Inc., McKinsey & Company, American Express, Boston Consulting Group, Ernst & Young, Fidelity, Johnson & Johnson, Proctor & Gamble, Target, Toyota and Wells Fargo. In addition, many top business schools will be attending including Harvard, Wharton, Kellogg, NYU Stern, Columbia, Yale and Georgetown. “There is no other opportunity or venue for LGBT MBA students to have this type of access to the top employers and graduate schools,” revealed Smith. “We are proud to be able to provide the resources and contacts that will help strengthen the vital LGBT business community.”

The Reaching Out LGBT MBA conference will be held October 18 – 20 at the Seaport Hotel World Trade Center, Boston, MA. For registration and information, visit www.reachingoutmba.org.

Two New England universities — UMass Amherst and the University of Vermont — took top honors in the 2012 annual rankings of LGBT-friendly campuses released by Campus Pride in conjunction with HuffPost Gay Voices.

Campus Pride's LGBT-friendly Campus Climate Index rates institutions of higher education on a scale of 1 to 5 stars based on criteria set in eight categories: LGBT Policy Inclusion, Support & Institutional Commitment, Academic Life, Student Life, Housing & Residence Life, Campus Safety, Counseling & Health, and Recruitment and Retention Efforts.

Out of all schools that receive five stars, Campus Pride and HuffPost select 25 for special recognition.

Campuses in the top 25, like UMass Amherst and UVM, receive no further ranking, essentially tying them for first place.

Six schools from New England made the top grade of five stars.

Filling out the New England five-star ranks are: University of Maine, Farmington in Farmington, Maine; Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire; Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island; and Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts.

To look up scores for other schools, check out the Campus Climate Index website here.