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The History of the LGBA |
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Note: As one of the Co-Founders, Judith Schaeffer '74, pointed out to the LGBA, the first couple of paragraphs are indeed a bit ridiculous considering the context of the 70s. However, we do not possess the resources currently to change this history and research a more detailed one, so for now, please read this with the fact in mind that Princeton University only admitted women in 1971. Please do read Judith Schaeffer's letter to us (a Word for Windows 6.0 Document). In May 1972 a student, looking for other gay Princetonians, placed a classified advertisement in The Daily Princetonian reading "Closet Queens Unite!"; the following fall a group of students - mainly men - founded the Gay Alliance of Princeton and sought recognition as a student organization. The alliance sponsored discussion groups and social events; in May, 1973, it held the largest (up to that date) gay dance in New Jersey. GAP officially welcomed men and women, but men dominated both the membership and the leadership. While the organization initially attracted townspeople, they soon split off to create Gay People of Princeton. Most gay Princetonians found the campus a comfortable, if not overly welcoming, environment; as a result, the Alliance was largely apolitical. The late 1970s, however, were marked by several incidents of harassment that sparked the Alliance to activism. Student leaders pushed for a nondiscrimination policy, which - despite much campus debate - was not adopted until 1985. In the 1980s GAP became more visible, sponsoring speakers and conferences as well as dances and discussion groups. While officially coed, GAP meetings remained sixty to eighty percent male; seeking some independence, a group of lesbians founded Gay Women of Princeton in 1982. GAP and GWOP shared an office and a budget, and cosponsored some events. After a few years, GWOP faded, eventually replaced by the Lesbian and Bisexual Task Force. In 1987 GAP and the LBTF joined under the umbrella name of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance of Princeton (GALAP), meeting independently while joining together for dances and speakers. In 1991, the name changed to GLOBAL - briefly - and then to the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Alliance. Under the LGBA umbrella are the men's group (formerly the Men's Auxiliary, or He's Interested in Men [HIM]), the Women's Group (formerly Princeton's Eagerly Awaited Radical Lesbians [PEARL] or Women Oriented Women [WOW]), and a bisexual group (Bisexual Interest Group, or BIG). Affiliate organizations include the Coalition Against Homophobia, And Justice for All (Princeton Chapter) and the Princeton AIDS Awareness. The LGBA sponsors dances, meetings, and a film festival. The biggest events of the year are Awareness Week, held in the fall and including Gay Jeans Day, Queer Articulations, the film and video festival held in winter, and Pride Week, held in the spring. In 1989 the offices of the Dean
of the Chapel and the Dean of Student Life began hiring graduate students
to help organize the GALAP office and activities. In 1994 the position
became a full-time internship position within the Dean
of Student Life office.
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