Earl Hall, Columbia University
Earl Hall is home to Columbia University’s religious and community service information, located on the campus of Columbia University in New York City.
This site was home to the first student homophile organization in history, which was formative for the LGBT community in general as well as activists at college campuses across the United States. In the fall of 1965, the Student Homophile League was started by Stephen Donaldson, a student who was openly bisexual. The organization was unable to get sanctioned by the university, and functioned as an underground organization for two years. The organization was eventually recognized by the university on April 19th of 1967.
In 1970, the group became known as Gay People at Columbia, and was also known as Gay People at Columbia-Barnard. The group became well-known for hosting Friday night dances in Earl Hall for the LGBT students on campus. The first dance was held on June 19th of 1970. The purpose of the dances was to provide a safe space for LGBT youth to socialize with others like themselves. The dances became publicly accessible for other LGBT youth in New York. Over the next five years, the dances became increasingly important to the Student Homophile League and the general LGBT community at Columbia University. In 1985, the drinking age in New York State was raised to 21. This restricted the number of places that young LGBT people were able to dance legally, thus making the Friday night dances at Earl Hall more important than they had formerly been.
Without the formation of the Student Homophile League at Columbia University, the inclusion of LGBT rights groups at college campuses around the world would not be possible. Although this group did initially serve a primarily social purpose, it became a group for activism as well as socialization. The group changed their name the year after they were formed in order to fit an activist agenda as well as keep their social events. The group also inspired similar organizations at other universities such as Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, which was home to the second gay student organization in the country. Along with changing the view of LGBT rights and socialization across college campuses, the events hosted by the Student Homophile League helped to shape the younger LGBT community. In opening their dances to the public, the Student Homophile League provided safe spaces for LGBT youths to socialize. This helped queer youths to feel less alone, a common feeling amongst young queer people during this era.Without the trailblazing efforts of the Student Homophile League, modern Gay-Straight Alliances and Pride Alliances would not exist within high schools and universities, and LGBT youth would not know the importance of socialization with other queer people. This history of Earl Hall is important in order to better understand both the development of LGBT rights for young people and how the socialization of young queer people has evolved over the years.
“Student Homophile League at Earl Hall, Columbia University.” NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. Accessed November 25, 2020. https://www.nyclgbtsites.org/site/columbia-university/.
Beemyn, Brett. "The silence is broken: a history of the first lesbian, gay, and bisexual college student groups." Journal of the History of Sexuality 12, no. 2 (2003): 205+. Gale Academic OneFile (accessed November 25, 2020). httpReference List
“Earl Hall Listed on National Register of Historic Places.” Columbia College, 2018. https://www.college.columbia.edu/news/earl-hall-listed-national-register-historic-places.
Mazina, Dina, and Rebecca DiBrienza. “Student Homophile League/Gay Liberation Front · Queer Youth: On Campus and in the Media by Sharon Ullman · OutHistory: It's About Time.” outhistory.org. Accessed November 25, 2020. http://outhistory.org/exhibits/show/queer-youth-campus-media/on-college-campuses/glf.
Reyes, Nina. 1990. “Four Students Attacked After Columbia Dance.” Outweek, no. 69 (October): 14–77. http://search.ebscohost.com.dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=qth&AN=17762544&site=ehost-lives://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A111698273/AONE?u=nysl_ca_nyempire&sid=AONE&xid=16402ed5.
“Student Homophile League at Earl Hall, Columbia University.” NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. Accessed November 25, 2020. https://www.nyclgbtsites.org/site/columbia-university/.
Comments
Post a Comment