It is perhaps safer to present oneself as a gay-affirming person, and let students seek out certain instructors if they choose. Students will make their decision to identify as gay or lesbian only under conditions that appear safe and comfortable to them. Because they often experience the campus climate as hostile or threatening to their physical well-being, instructors should not put them on the spot or urge them to disclose if students do not judge it wise. Gay and lesbian students may sometimes feel they have to devote time to the quest for equal rights. Teachers should recognize that they may feel torn between these responsibilities and their academic work.
Students have strong preference for terms used by people outside the gay and lesbian community.
The students in this study preferred lesbian women and gay men to the term homosexual. Teachers should try to create safe environments for students so that they can view classrooms as places where they do not have to be fearful. Although students do not want teachers to repress others' freedom of expression, they expect them to take strong action if homophobic remarks are made. If teachers avoid issues, students are likely to take it as a sign of complicity. Professors should realize that gay and lesbian students judge their attitudes by the language that teachers use, their responses to situations that come up in class, their inclusiveness in course content decisions, and by the way in which they respond to student work on lesbian and gay topics.