{"id":7910,"date":"2018-09-13T13:52:39","date_gmt":"2018-09-13T17:52:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=7910"},"modified":"2025-02-28T10:55:55","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T15:55:55","slug":"progress-lgbtq-identities-and-issues-at-george-mason-university-from-the-1970s-through-the-1990s-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=7910","title":{"rendered":"Progress: LGBTQ Identities and Issues at George Mason University from the 1970s through the 1990s \u2013 Part 1\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post was written by Lana Mason, Processing Student Assistant. Lana has an Associate of Arts degree in Fine Arts from Piedmont Virginia Community College. She is currently studying Art History with a minor in Arts Management at George Mason University.<\/em><\/p>\n

Today, George Mason University (GMU) is lauded for its diverse student body and welcoming, accepting atmosphere. In 2017, the university was named the most diverse higher education institution in Virginia by U.S. News & World Report.i<\/span>\u00a0The university considers\u00a0diversity to be\u00a0one of its core values, and\u00a0is rightfully proud of its students\u2019 varied\u00a0identities and\u00a0backgrounds.\u00a0GMU provides a supportive environment to all its students through various resources\u00a0and events. LGBTQ students find support from\u00a0the school\u2019s LGBTQ Resources Office, celebration of Pride Week,\u00a0numerous student organizations, and accepting campus-wide perspective.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The supportive and welcoming environment LGBTQ students know today is the product of decades of effort by GMU students, faculty, and administrators to create a more accepting environment, even in the face of opposition.\u00a0This two-part blog series will examine\u00a0how GMU\u2014its campus culture, educators, administrators, and students\u2014interacted with LGBTQ identities and experiences from the 1970s to the 1990s.\u00a0These stories are sourced from news articles taken from\u00a0the\u00a0George Mason University Office of University Relations newsclippings and press releases records (R0004.)<\/a><\/span> These clippings, which discuss various programs, activities, events, and goings-on at\u00a0and around\u00a0GMU, present an of-the-times\u00a0look into how\u00a0LGBTQ individuals and issues were approached both on and off campus.\u00a0This local perspective\u00a0might be considered a microcosm of the wider social trends and dynamics\u00a0of the era.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The 1970s to the 1990s saw drastic changes in\u00a0general\u00a0societal attitudes towards LGBTQ identities.\u00a0Beginning in the 1970s, LGBTQ students at Virginia higher education institutions began to concertedly advocate for recognition and tolerance. The 1980s saw the rise of\u00a0the AIDS epidemic, an international tragedy which sparked both widespread fear and an increased social awareness of LGBTQ identities, particularly on college campuses. The effects of the AIDS epidemic continued into the 1990s, during which GMU experienced numerous homophobic incidents amidst efforts to promote tolerance and acceptance of its LGBTQ students.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Likely propelled by the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City, organized\u00a0LGBTQ student\u00a0activity\u00a0on\u00a0Virginia college campuses\u00a0began in earnest in the early\u00a01970s.\u00a0At that time, college campuses (reflecting wider society) were generally unwelcoming to LGBTQ individuals, and students who attempted to organize alliances or groups often faced administrative opposition as well as negative attitudes from their peers.\u00a0In 1972, the Gay Student Alliance at Virginia Commonwealth University\u00a0attempted to gain recognition from the school\u2014however,\u00a0school officials refused to recognize them\u00a0and\u00a0\u00a0the Alliance\u00a0consequently spent two years in court in order to obtain that official recognition.ii<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0<\/span>LGBTQ student groups at all Virginia universities generally operated covertly, whether the group was officially recognized or not, due to the social stigma surrounding being gay and the fear of being outed. In the article \u201cStifled: Recognition a Problem for Homosexual Clubs,\u201d many of the students interviewed discussed their peers\u2019 fears of being harassed, outed (especially to families who might throw them out or other students who might pose a threat to them,) or stereotyped. Campus LGBTQ groups faced difficulties reaching out to gay students\u2014whether they were openly out or not\u2014due to the widespread fear of being associated with such groups.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At GMU, there was no established LGBTQ student group by 1979. The then-editor of the student newspaper, Steve Skovron, attributed the lack of such an organization to the fact that GMU was at the time still an \u201cextremely young college\u201d and cited reticence on the part of the school to recognize student associations based on any identity.iii<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the 1980s, the AIDS crisis\u00a0(which was formally recognized in 1981)\u00a0brought LGBTQ identities and issues to the forefront of national conversation.\u00a0American society responded conflictingly to the epidemic, with discrimination and fear widespread, but also\u00a0a growing awareness and\u00a0slowly-increasing acceptance of LGBTQ people as well, particularly as the decade progressed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At GMU, the response to the AIDS epidemic was\u00a0to take\u00a0a proactive and educational, if\u00a0still\u00a0fearful, stance.\u00a0In May 1987,\u00a0GMU\u2019s\u00a0Student Health Service began to sell condoms along with educational information about AIDS.\u00a0College students were considered a high-risk population, and\u00a0the\u00a0Northern Virginia\u00a0geographic region\u00a0alone had over half the recorded\u00a0AIDS\u00a0cases\u00a0of the entire state.iv<\/span>\u00a0GMU\u2019s decision to make safe sex tools and information more accessible to its students was both practical and sensible, and set a precedent for continued proactive efforts to promote student health and awareness particularly in regards to AIDS.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0<\/span>Also in 1987, John F. Bunker, director of the Center for Health Promotion at GMU, began to offer informational programs about AIDS to local, statewide, and national audiences. The Center for Health Promotion served as \u201cone of the few national clearing houses for information on AIDS,\u201d\u00a0marking GMU as ahead of the curve on the public health issue.v<\/span>\u00a0Bunker\u2019s presentations ranged from offering guidance on developing AIDS policies for workplaces to\u00a0the integration of AIDS education into school curriculums. During a time when many people thought AIDS could be \u201ccaught\u201d simply through casual contact, when it was a stigma beyond belief, such informational programs were immensely important in promoting awareness of the disease.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>In the second and final part of this blog series, we\u2019ll explore how GMU in the\u00a01990s was both informed by the fears of the \u201870s and \u201880s and marked\u00a0by\u00a0a shift towards greater acceptance and recognition of LGBTQ identities and experiences.<\/p>\n

Follow Special Collections Research Center on Social Media\u00a0<\/em>at\u00a0our\u00a0Facebook<\/a><\/span>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>,<\/span> and\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>accounts. To search the collections\u00a0held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our\u00a0website\u00a0and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail\u00a0us at\u00a0speccoll@gmu.edu<\/a><\/span>\u00a0or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to\u00a0schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions. Appointments are not necessary to request and view collections.<\/em><\/p>\n

i https:\/\/www2.gmu.edu\/news\/452276<\/p>\n

ii \u201cStifled: Recognition a Problem for Homosexual Clubs,\u201d January 23, 1979, George Mason University Office of University Relations newsclippings and press releases records, R0004, 19.3, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.<\/p>\n

iii \u201cStifled\u201d same as above<\/p>\n

iv \u201cGeorge Mason to Sell Condoms,\u201d April 30, 1987, George Mason University Office of University Relations newsclippings and press releases records, R0004, 57.1, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.<\/p>\n

v \u201cGMU Offers AIDS Information,\u201d August 20, 1987, George Mason University Office of University Relations newsclippings and press releases records, R0004, 57.6, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post was written by Lana Mason, Processing Student Assistant. Lana has an Associate of Arts degree in Fine Arts from Piedmont Virginia Community College. She is currently studying Art History with a minor in Arts Management at George Mason University. Today, George Mason University (GMU) is lauded for its diverse student body and welcoming, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101014,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[529,3,162,5,121,94,339],"tags":[503,703,702,701,30,367,700,434,505,330],"class_list":["post-7910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-george-mason-university-history","category-news","category-recently-processed","category-scrc-interest","category-scrc-picks","category-university-archives","category-virginia-2","tag-1970s","tag-1980s","tag-aids","tag-diversity","tag-gmu-students","tag-health","tag-lgbtq","tag-newspapers","tag-student-life","tag-student-newspapers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Ep5i-23A","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8031,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=8031","url_meta":{"origin":7910,"position":0},"title":"Progress: LGBTQ Identities and Issues at George Mason University from the 1970s through the 1990s \u2013 Part 2","author":"Amanda Menjivar","date":"October 29, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This post was written by Lana Mason, Processing Student Assistant. 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