Welcome omarosa
Well done on the 20lbs so far!
It's great that you have a gym on campus that you can use. I know what you mean about the male dominated weights area but I soon realised that the tension seems to be between the guys
Once I realised how silly they looked huffing and puffing to show how manly they are, i was able to relax doing my own stuff with my little 6kg weights. Most people at the gym are usually worried about what people think of them and don't have time to worry about others.
My trainer told me there is nothing wrong with machine weights and they are actually safer if you are starting out. I'd recommend getting a trainer (if possible) to make sure that you are doing the exercises correctly.
There is a lot of ways to go about your weight training so I would look online for guidelines (just google free weights full body). Some people prefer to do a full body workout or work on different muscle groups on different days. The main principle is that you do a few sets of about 8-12 repetitions and when that becomes easy, you increase the weight.
In terms of cardio- just do something that is fun and you enjoy. That way you are more likely to come back to it. I get so bored in the gym so I tend to go for dance classes or swimming.