Southeast Rainbow Alliance Collection

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: 2003.062

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection contains five scrapbooks and a call log. The material found in this collection deals directly with the formation and operation of GLBT student organizations on campus starting with the GLSA in 1986. The material also addresses national and local GLBT issues. The collection contains many forms of publications including flyers, pamphlets, forms, website page printout and newspaper clippings. The collection also contains private papers including correspondence, call logs, and organizational notes and agendas. Some material has been restricted or redacted to protect the privacy of people mentioned therein. Content List and Description: Scrapbook 1 contains the GLSA’s earliest records, 1986 to 1987. The organization received informational and promotional material from regional and national organizations welcoming its formation. The informational pamphlets and correspondence specifically deal with AIDS and funding issues. Some of this early material documents the GLSA’s struggle to become a legitimate, university-recognized organization, in particular its attempt to receive funding from the student government. Personal letters and university forms make reference to the situation with the student government. Scrapbooks 2 and 3 overlap and primarily contain newspaper clippings from 1989 to 1992. The local clippings came from the Capaha Arrow and the Southeast Missourian newspapers and directly concern the Southeast GLSA. There are announcements for GLSA activities including Blue Jeans Day, Gay and Lesbian Awareness Week, and Get Smart Week. The Speak Out clippings and letters to the editor show resistance from some members of the Cape Girardeau community toward the gay community, particularly to the GLSAs positive representation of that community. A series of the clippings concerns the Southeast Missourian editor, Peter Kinder. Personal information has been redacted from one of the letters responding to Kinder's editorials. The regional and national clippings address broader GLBT issues like gays in the military and violence against gays. The only item that is not a clipping is a typed letter to the Capaha Arrow from the GLSA addressing issues raised by the Gay and Lesbian Awareness Day. The scrapbooks also contain letters to the university president and the Southeast Missourian. Some material deals with GLSA fundraising, and a two-page news release from the Gay & Lesbian Peoples Union (now known as the Saluki Rainbow Network) at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale announces their Nineteenth Anniversary Gay Awareness Week. Personal information has been redacted from one of the letters. Scrapbook 4 concerns the establishment and functions of the Lambda Student Union from 1996 to 1997. The scrapbook is divided into seven sections: Lambda Student Union, web page/internet resources, newspaper clippings, programming, hate mail, miscellaneous, and flyers. The first section, Lambda Student Union, gives an overview of the organization. The current president, Duane Westhoff, compiled a history of the SEMO gay and lesbian organizations. Section contains student government forms, letters, and information material, as well as membership and organizational forms, agendas, minutes, and notes. The next three sections deal with functional aspects of LSU. The second section, Web Page/Internet Resources, contains printouts from the Lambda Student Union, Washington University’s GLBA, and Cyberlounge. These printouts contain general information on gay and lesbian movies, organizations, and St. Louis Area clubs and stores. This section also contains an Open Doors flyer. The third section contains newspaper clippings, mainly from the Capaha Arrow. The scrapbook also contains a letter to the newspaper concerning formatting of a LSU advertisement. The fourth section, labeled Programming, contains correspondence with different university departments, Gay and Lesbian Awareness Week and National Coming Out Day flyers, and Midwest Bisexual Lesbian & Gay College Conference forms and information. A portion of the material in this section deals with the Ally campaign, including correspondence with university professors, an Ally description, and an Ally magnet. The fifth section includes a Southeast Missouri State University Office of Judicial Affairs Incident Report, a phone log of harassing calls (names and personal information has been redacted), and a series of harassing letters and notes directed at the Lambda Student Union. This section deals exclusively with hate mail and harassment experienced by the Lambda Student Union and its members. The sixth section includes miscellaneous material, namely correspondence with other regional organizations and with student government. The last section includes a large collection of Lambda Student Union flyers, specifically the “Great Words from Great Warriors” series and the “Expression of Pride” series. This section also includes gay wedding information, gay symbol packet, a “condom sense” leaflet, P-Flag publications, and a paper titled, “Keith Haring: The Radiant Baby,” by Jean McHarry. Personal information has been redacted from club notes and correspondence. Lambda Student Union rosters, mailing lists, key authorization lists, and membership updates are restricted. Scrapbook 5 contains items from 2001 and 2002, including a letter and certificate from the American College Personnel Association Standing Committee for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Awareness awarding the organization the LGBT Student Programming in Excellence Award Grant: the constitution, objectives and goals of the organization; and has website page printouts and handwritten accounts of the Rainbow Alliance’s activities. The newspaper clippings in this scrapbook address an array of issues including housing for gay senior citizens, SEMO discrimination policies, and Rainbow Alliance campus activities. A portion of the material including clippings, flyers, and pamphlets concerning the Rainbow Alliance’s National Coming Out Week. The scrapbook also contains a series of publications about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender topics created by the Student Development Center. A letter to the president of the organization has personal information redacted. Call Log: Probably from Prideline. It is a collection of handwritten or typed accounts of incoming messages from mid-1992 though mid-1993. Outgoing messages are also documented, but not verbatim. This call log documents the day-to-day activities of the organization and contains personal appeals for assistance and information from members of the community. It also contains several hate-oriented messages directed toward the GLSA and the broader GLBT community. Names of individuals and other personal information has been redacted from copies of originals

Dates

Creation: 1986-2002

Rights Statement

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).

Biographical / Historical

The Gay and Lesbian Student Association (GLSA) began as a support group through the Newman Center, a Catholic campus organization. Initially, GLSA struggled to become a legitimate, university-recognized organization and in particular, attempted to receive funding through the student government. During the spring semester of 1986 the university officially recognized the organization, though problems with funding would persist into the next school year. In 1992 the organization’s name was changed to the Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Association (GLBA). In 1995, GLBA was defunct, and it was almost two years before another gay and lesbian organization appeared on campus. During this period the Center for Health and Counseling attempted to compensate by holding a gay and lesbian support group. Those students involved in the support group helped form the Lambda Student Union (LSU) in 1996. By 2001 the name had changed to Southeast Rainbow Alliance.

These Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) organizations have accomplished much, especially in light of the large amount of opposition. When the first organization formed in the mid-1980s, there was substantial opposition from both the campus community and the general Cape Girardeau community. The opposition continued through the 1990s with harassment in the form of hate mail and destruction of property. Even with these obstacles, some form of a GLBT organization continued to exist and function on campus. They have sponsored and/or organized campus events including the NAMES Project, Gay and Lesbian Awareness Week, National Coming Out Day, and Get Smart Week. The most current GLBT organization, Southeast Rainbow Alliance, continues to function as a formal, university recognized organization which supports the GLBT students and educates the community on GLBT issues.

Extent

1.0 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Scrapbooks, publications, correspondence, organizational documents, and call log documenting the establishment and early history of the gay, lesbian and bisexual student association at Southeast Missouri State University, originally founded as the Gay and Lesbian Student Association in 1986, later changing its name to the Gay Lesbian, and Bisexual Association in 1992; the Lambda Student Union in 1996; and finally the Rainbow Alliance in 2001.