In the wake of the highly publicized Tyler Clementi suicide at Rutgers University in New Jersey and a spate of other attention being paid to bullying in schools, the University of Massachusetts has been ranked among the most tolerant schools for gay students by Newsweek.

UMass checked in as the eighth-most gay friendly school on the list. Newsweek commended the University for its diversity and breadth of different students, noting that “you can find any kind of background here, whether you are speaking about ethnicity or religion.” The write-up continues to note that “the campus is definitely more liberal and is very accepting to gays and lesbians.”

Philadelphia’s University of Pennsylvania was No. 1 on the list. The social commentary website Gawker notes that the Ivy League school “actively recruits gay students,” furthering that the school produces “future gay-listers.”

At second is UC Berkeley, lauded both for its academic prowess and location near what many consider to be the heart of gay culture in the U.S., San Francisco.

Next on the list are New York University, the University of Michigan, American University in Washington, D.C. and Penn State. Following UMass in the Top 10 are Indiana University in Bloomington and another Ivy League institution, Princeton University in New Jersey.

-Collegian News Staff