HAMILTON – Colgate men's basketball has teamed up with the LBGTQ organizations on campus to generate awareness and support for these initiatives. During Saturday's 2 p.m. home matchup with Lehigh, the team is dedicating the game to LBGTQ Awareness.

“This LGBTQ awareness game is for the entire Colgate community to come down to Cotterell Court to enjoy the Raiders, and to visibly show that there is major ally support throughout the whole university for LGBTQ students,” said Jamie Bergeron, assistant director of LGBTQ initiatives and CLSI. “I am so excited that more than 70 student clubs, teams, and campus offices have signed on as allies already. There is a lot of excitement for students and Colgate families that want to support our athletics teams stand up for LGBTQ equality."

Colgate supports students regardless of sexual orientation and gender, and all students can help improve Colgate by being allies to LGBTQ students on campus. Bergeron said that together, the Colgate community can reduce homophobia by speaking up against bullying and harassment.

"LGBTQ initiatives and Colgate athletics have worked together for a long time to support student-athletes and reduce homophobia in this area,” Bergeron added. “Working together to host this Men's Basketball game bridges a major public gap in our relationship.

“Unfortunately, some student athletes and others have a difficult time finding LGBTQ support on campus, which greatly affects their personal life, athletic experience, and campus experience in general.”

There were 21 openly gay or lesbian Olympic athletes in the London Games, and they said more support from allies would help make their experiences more comfortable. More than 500 people on campus have pledged to be an ally. The team is urging others to sign up during the game in support of equality for all members of the LGBTQ community.

There is also a SafeZone training program at Colgate that offers special training to reduce homophobia on teams or in the classroom. For more information on this training program, visit the LGBTQ Life webpage here.

LGBTQ Initiatives and the men's basketball team want to thank Colgate athletics for leading the way and building community by hosting this game and making Colgate a more accepting space.