Inclusivity, equality, representation, and respect for all humans is a field of social causes near and dear to our hearts in Athens and at OU. And the powerhouse player in that endeavor to be a place where everyone feels safe and a part of something is our local LGBTQ+ community. The queer community has been impacting the social growth of Ohio University and Athens at-large since the early 1970s, and hasn’t lost its forward momentum since. Let’s break it down into a timeline:
1970s: Peace, Love & Representation
- In 1972, GALA (Gay & Lesbian Association) was established to give resources and support for gay, lesbian and bisexual people as well as those exploring their sexuality. GALA’s still around, but now we know it as Spectrum Plus.
- Ohio University hosted its first workshop on counseling those in the gay community. It was titled Helping Someone Gay: a growth-oriented model for counseling and psychotherapy with gay people.
1980s: Institutional Barriers to Equality
- Ohio University added sexual orientation to its official non-discrimination policies in 1980.
- Soon after, a lesbian visibility group cropped up, which we know today as Empowering Women of Ohio. This activist organization advocates for equality for all ethnicities, genders and sexualities. They provide educational material, informational resources, and avenues to support making our corner of Ohio a more equitable place.
1990s: The Birth of OU’s LGBT Center
- The Student Senate’s Minority Affairs Commission was renamed the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Commission, which was then changed to the LGBT Commission, and then the LGBTQA Commission in 2013.
- Empowering Women of Ohio spent the ‘90s disrupting the status quo by openly criticizing homophobia, transphobia, and heterosexual hegemony while fostering education on the spectrum of sexualities.
- In 1998, the LGBT Center was officially established by the Division of Student Affairs in their commitment to a fostering a diverse and equitable community at OU. The director was a full-time staff member in Resident Life.
2000s: New Resources & New Heights
- Ohio University made the LGBT Center a full-time operation in 2003.
- In 2004, OU started to offer Domestic Partner Benefits to partners and their children. Also in 2004, ALLY formed – a student group of open-minded people dedicated to equality for all kinds of minorities – and then held their first Queer Prom. Queer Prom was a way to make it up to those who weren’t allowed to go to their high school proms as the gay, bi, trans, or otherwise queer humans they are.
- 2007 brought more institutional change as the LGBT Center was moved to the Division of Diversity & Inclusion at the Office of the Provost, while gender expression and gender identity were added to OU’s non-discrimination policy.
2010s: We in Here Now
- OU opened its first gender neutral housing in 2011 at Smith House.
- The next year, Asterisk: Athens Area Trans* Advocates formed as a way to advocate for trans* and other gender-variant people’s rights in OU and Athens.
- In 2013, trans* individuals are added to the Student Health Plan, and OU hosts its first Queer Studies Conference.
- The LGBTQ Studies Certificate was first offered in 2014, and the PRIDE Alumni Society is formed for LGBTQ+ OU alumni.
- OU’s Preferred Name and Pronoun Policy is introduced university-wide in 2015.
- In 2019, the LGBT Center launched the Progress Pledge campaign, which focuses on encouraging intersectional support for LGBTQ+ community members from allies in Southeastern Ohio communities.
- Meanwhile, in the late ‘10s, the Southeastern Ohio Rainbow Alliance formed, connecting with and collaborating with OU on various local and regional LGBTQ+ causes, including Athens Pride Fest.
2020s: Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop
The ‘20s aren’t yet into full swing, but SEORA and OU’s LGBT Center are. OU’s student organization works closely with this regional social-cause entity: the Southeast Ohio Rainbow Alliance, to offer support, resources, inclusivity training, financial support, and more to our LGBTQ+ community members while encouraging allies to be... well… allies. And then, of course, there’s the top-notch Pride Week events OU and SEORA collaborate on and throw in uptown Athens each June.
Plus, in just the last two years, the LGBT Center at OU has added student leadership awards and LGBTQ+ support funds. And in 2021, 101 Safe Zone material was updated to include information on intersex individuals and asexuality, continuing the legacy of growth and inclusivity our LGBTQ+ community has offered OU and Athens for over 50 years.
In early 2022, the LGBT Center reopened in a new, upgraded space at Baker Center Suite 348. It’s got a reception area, offices, low-sensory study spaces, activity rooms, an LGBTQ+ lending library, and a cool clothing exchange program run by OU’s T.R.A.N.S student organization.
Find more resources on student LGBTQ+ activities, groups, events, and more at the LGBT Center’s page. Faculty and staff can inquire about affinity organizations; parallel organizations for OU employees from under-represented and minority communities.
Happy Pride Month, everybody!