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Lesbian Gay Bisexual Alliance Records
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Held at: Princeton University Library: University Archives [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: University Archives. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
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 non-discrimination 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 co-ed, 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, then He's Interested in Men [HIM]), the women's group (formerly Princeton's Eagerly Awaited Radical Lesbians [PEARL] and then Women Oriented Women [WOW]), and a bisexual group (Bisexual Interest Group, or BIG). Affiliate organizations include the Coalition Against Homophobia and the AIDS Activist Coalition for Education (AACE). 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, 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 position within the Dean of Student Life office.
Over the years, many students and staff recognized the need for a dedicated Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) center at Princeton. In the spring of 2002, students began writing a proposal for the creation of a LGBT center. In the summer of 2005, the LGBT Student Services office evolved into The LGBT Center. Construction for the new LGBT Center in Frist began in October 2005, and the new Center opened its doors in March 2006.
This collection documents both LGBA activities and issues affecting lesbian, gay, and bisexual people at Princeton and elsewhere. Since the LGBA is generally a student organization, the completeness of this collection varies according to student interest in collecting material. The office files since the arrival of the director are no less incomplete. The collection includes interviews with the founding students of Princeton University's first gay student organization Judith Schaeffer and Arthur Eisenbach which can be found in Series 1, Organizational Papers.
No acquisition information was available at the time of processing.
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
This collection was processed by Daniel Sack in July 1995. Finding aid written by Daniel Sack in July 1995. Materials in box 6 and the oversize drawer were added by Christie Peterson in May 2012. The 2023 accession of digital materials was processed by Caitlin Abadir-Mullally in July 2023, at which point the finding aid was updated and materials were intellectually integrated into existing topical series.
No appraisal information was available at time of processing.
Organization
Subject
- College students -- New Jersey -- Princeton -- Societies and clubs
- Gay activists -- New Jersey -- Princeton
- Gay college students -- New Jersey -- Princeton
- Gay men -- New Jersey -- Princeton. -- 20th century
- Homosexuality -- New Jersey -- Princeton. -- 20th century
- Lesbians -- New Jersey -- Princeton. -- 20th century
- Students -- Political activity -- New Jersey -- Princeton
- Students -- Social conditions -- New Jersey -- Princeton
- Publisher
- University Archives
- Finding Aid Author
- Daniel Sack
- Finding Aid Date
- 1997
- Access Restrictions
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Collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
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Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. The Trustees of Princeton University hold copyright to all materials generated by Princeton University employees in the course of their work. For instances beyond Fair Use, if copyright is held by Princeton University, researchers do not need to obtain permission, complete any forms, or receive a letter to move forward with use of materials from the Princeton University Archives.
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Collection Inventory
No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
Series 1, Organizational Papers, 1983-1991, contains official papers and correspondence of the LGBA and its predecessors. For both political and practical reasons, the Alliance has had very little structure–officers have usually been selected by default and have very little power–so there is no constitution and few meeting minutes.
Physical Description1 box
1 folder
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1.9 GB
No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
Series 2, Programs, 1973-1995, charts the activities of the various groups within the LGBA–women's groups, men's groups, the bisexuals' group–plus events (both special and annual) sponsored by the Alliance. While there are some memos, schedules, and newsletters, the bulk of these files contain flyers and newspaper stories regarding these programs.
August 2009 Accession, 1987-2007, contains materials related to the ALLY project, LGBT Pride events, LGBA Task Force, event and program fliers, Daily Princetonian articles and other newspaper articles on gay issues, HIV Project, resource guides, information on the Nassau Hall sit-in and related materials.
April 2011 Accession contains LGBT Center event records, reports, task force documents and related materials.
Physical Description4 boxes
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No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
Series 3, Publications, 1978-1994, contains general advertisements, flyers, and newsletters not related to specific programs.
Physical Description1 box
1 folder
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No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
Series 4, Subject files, 1972-1995, is largely made up of newspaper clippings, mainly from the Daily Princetonian, regarding various issues concerning gay, lesbian, and bisexual life at Princeton and elsewhere. These files describe the Alliance's activism as well as the polemics on campus concerning homosexuality and the Alliance's activities.
Physical Description3 boxes
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No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
Physical Description2 boxes
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