Guide to the Cornell Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Coalition records,
1968-1999

Collection Number: 37-6-1589

Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
Cornell University Library

Contact Information:
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
2B Carl A. Kroch Library
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
(607) 255-3530
Fax: (607) 255-9524
rareref@cornell.edu
http://rmc.library.cornell.edu
Compiled by:
Phil McCray
Brenda Marston
Date completed:
July 1991
(Revised January 1998)
EAD encoding:
Mireille Lee, May 2000
Sarah Keen, June 2008

© 2000 Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library


DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Title:
Cornell Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Coalition records, 1968-1999
Collection Number:
37-6-1589
Creator:
Cornell Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Coalition
Quantity:
7.1 cubic feet
Forms of Material:
Correspondence, logbooks, financial records, accounts, newsletters, bibliographies, minutes, lists, broadsides, photographs.
Repository:
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
Materials pertaining to gay student groups at Cornell University. Includes twenty volumes of business logs, 1978-1993, of Gay People at Cornell and then the Cornell Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Coalition.


ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY

Columbia University's Student Homophile League (SHL), the first college or university student group for gay issues, was founded in October 1966. On March 5, 1968, Jearld F. Moldenhauer, a student at Cornell University, wrote to the business manager of Columbia's SHL, who was using the pseudonym Stephen Donaldson, and stated that he was "seriously considering an attempt to organize a Cornell chapter of the Student Homophile League." Cornell's Scheduling Coordination and Review Board (SCARB) recognized the group in May 1968, and Cornell's Student Homophile League became the country's second gay student organization.
To protect privacy, Moldenhauer arranged for Cornell's SCARB to recognize the group without submitting names of its members. Father Daniel Berrigan of Cornell United Religious Work agreed to sign on as the Cornell group's first faculty advisor. The first widely advertised meeting took place Nov. 21, 1968. Moldenhauer, Janis Kelly, Robert Roth, Janet Hadda, and Pauline Layton were active members and officers during the first few years. Victoria (Vicky) Mead was an officer in the 1978/1979 and 1979/1980 academic years with Alan Evan Cherry, whose 1986 memorial service program is included in the files she donated.
Cornell's SHL brought its first outside speaker to campus, Dr. Franklin Kameny, on Sept. 23, 1969. His lecture, "The Homosexual Dilemma: What Every Heterosexual Should Know," drew an audience of 150. This was followed by an October 23 lecture by Barbara Gittings, "The Lesbian Speaks for Herself," that drew 350 people. In February 1970, through the efforts of then president Robert Roth, Ithaca's leftist print shop, Glad Day Books, printed the first issue of Cornell SHL News. A basement bar named Morrie's started having gay nights and became a social space for SHL members. The Gay People's Center was an affiliated project.
In 1971, a tradition of celebrating May Gay started and has continued since. Sometime after 1984, the celebration was moved to April because of the early ending of the school year and became known as Gaypril.
Name changes:
In September 1970, the SHL changed its name to the Gay Liberation Front. Around 1973, the name changed to Cornell Gay Liberation. Sometime between 1973 and 1979, a group called United Sisters co-sponsored dances with Cornell Gay Liberation. In September 1979, Cornell Gay Liberation became GAYPAC (Gay People at Cornell) and a group named Cornellesbians had formed.
In 1984, the following groups existed at Cornell: GAYPAC, LAGPAD (Lesbian and Gay Political Action Discussion Group); Cornell Women's Center; GBLOC (Gays, Bisexuals, and Lesbians of Color); Gay Peer Counselors; Lambda Law Students; and Cornellesbians.
By 1989, GAYPAC had become the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Coalition, an umbrella group including GBLOC and LBQ (Cornell Lesbian, Bisexual, and Questioning Women, formerly Cornellesbians). In 1997, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Coalition included: BRIDGES (Bisexuals Reinventing Definitions of Gender and Sexuality); Dialogue (religious discussion group); Safe Space (a coming out support group); ZAP!; LBQ; MSM (Men Supporting Men); and Mosaic (formerly GBLOC).
GUAH (Greeks United Against Homophobia) and Out in the World (the graduate and professional students' LBGT social group) are independent of the Coalition.
The use of pseudonyms:
It will be helpful for researchers to know the pseudonyms used by a few of the early Student Homophile League leaders.
Jearld (Jerry) F. Moldenhauer '68 sometimes used the name Robert Hermann or Robert Herrman, and later, Joel Morrison.
Robert Roth '71 sometimes used the name Robert Russell.
SHL's national chairman was Columbia student Bob Martin, sometimes known as Stephen Donaldson.

CHRONOLOGY

May 4 (5), 1966 or 1967 The founding and subsequent first meeting of the Student Homophile League at Columbia University (Source: The Cornell Daily Sun)
November 10, 1967 Two colleges have joined Columbia & University in establishing budding chapters of the SHL, and additional chapters may be formed by at least some of the other Ivy League universities, according to the groups's national chairman.
Stephen Donaldson (a pseudonym used to maintain the group members' anonymity) said in a telephone interview that prospects are "bright" for the formation of similar homophile groups at other campuses.
A Student Homophile League chapter at Cornell could not be established until a Cornell student contacted Donaldson, the national chair said. No such contact from Cornell has yet been received, he noted.(Source: The Cornell Daily Sun)

COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

Correspondence, logbooks, financial records and accounts, newsletters, bibliographies, minutes, lists, and broadsides of and pertaining to gay student groups at Cornell University. Includes twenty volumes of business logs, 1978-1993, of Gay People at Cornell and then the Cornell Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Coalition.
Photos taken by David Ruether of gay events at Cornell in 1984. They were taken for a story on the student group's 15th anniversary. The story, written by Bill Andriette, ended up not appearing in the alumni magazine.

SUBJECTS

Names:
Cornell Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Coalition.
Cornell Gay Liberation.
Cornell University. Gay Liberation Front.
Gay People at Cornell.
Cornellesbians.
Cornell Lesbian, Bisexual and Questioning Women.
Cornell Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals of Color.
Cornell University--Students.
Cornell University--Societies, etc.
Gay People's Center.
Student Homophile League of Cornell University.
Gay People at Cornell. Advisory Committee on Gay Acquisitions.
Moldenhauer, Jearld.
Kelly, Janis.
Roth, Robert.
Mead, Victoria.

Subjects:
Gay college students.
Gay liberation movement.
Lesbians.
Gays.
Homosexuality.
Bisexuality.
Homosexuals--Societies, etc.


INFORMATION FOR USERS

Cite As:
Cornell Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Coalition records, #37-6-1589. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.

RELATED MATERIAL

Daniel and Philip Berrigan collection, #4602.
Robert Roth papers, #7325.
Pauline Layton papers, #7620.
A history of Cornell's Student Homophile League, and transcripts of interviews with SHL founders Jearld Moldenhauer, Janis Kelly, and Robert Roth, can be found in the Haftan M. Eckholdt papers, #7622.
Direct Action to Stop Homophobia (DASH) records, #37-6-3552 (a Cornell LGBT group subsequent to the Coalition).

COLLECTION ARRANGEMENT

The files had only a rudimentary order. The records of the Gay People's Center are not distinguished from those of the Student Homophile League. The original folder headings, when present, have been retained; others have been supplied. A chronological order has been determined only when practical. Two and a half cubic feet of periodicals have been distributed in other parts of the Human Sexuality Collection.

SERIES LIST

Date
Description
Container
Series I. Records
Box 1-5, 9-12
Series II. Photographs
Box 6-7, 10
Series III. Ephemera
Box 8, 10-11
Series IV. Subject Files
General Subject Files
Box 9-11
ACT-UP
Box 9
AIDS
Box 9, 11
Conferences
Box 9
Cornell University Information
Box 9-11
Organizations
Box 10

CONTAINER LIST

Date
Description
Container
Series I. Records
April 1976-February 1978
Cornell Gay Liberation Logbook
Box 1 Folder 1
February 1978-August 1978
Cornell Gay Liberation Logbook
Box 1 Folder 2
November 1978-March 1979
Cornell Gay Liberation Logbook
Box 5 Folder 16
1968-70
Founding of the Student Homophile League at Cornell University, including background material and documents, correspondence from Stephen Donaldson of the National Student Homophile League to Robert Russell, Jerald F. Moldenhauer, and Robert Roth; other correspondence
Box 1 Folder 3
1969-71
Student Homophile League Records and Correspondence
Box 1 Folder 4
1970
Student Homophile League Records and Correspondence
Box 1 Folder 5
1971
Student Homophile League Records and Correspondence; with reference to the Gay Liberation Front
Box 1 Folder 6
1972-73
Cornell Gay Liberation/Gay People's Center's "Gay Liberation Bulletin"
Box 1 Folder 7
1974
Mrs. Ermanno A. Basilio Correspondence, pertaining to the Ithaca police and other gay issues
Box 1 Folder 8
1972-74
Gay Liberation Front/Gay People's Center Correspondence
Box 1 Folder 9
1975-76
Cornell Gay Liberation/Gay People's Center Records and Correspondence
Box 1 Folder 10-11
1975-77
Gay People's Center Correspondence
Box 1 Folder 12
1976-77
Cornell Gay Liberation Records and Correspondence
Box 1 Folder 13
1976-77
Cornell Gay Liberation; "Gay News"
Box 1 Folder 14
1976-77
Cornell Gay Liberation Correspondence
Box 1 Folder 15
1976-77
Gay People's Center - Employment
Box 1 Folder 16
1978-1980
Correspondence and notes
Box 5 Folder 17
Cornell Gay Liberation/Gay People's Center
1976-1978
Records and Correspondence
Box 1 Folder 17
1974-1978
Minutes
Box 1 Folder 18-23
1972-1976
Administrative Records
Box 1 Folder 24
1975
Administrative Records
Box 1 Folder 25
1969-1978
Accounts
Box 1 Folder 26-41
1975
Zaps: Guidelines and Records
Box 1 Folder 44
1972-1973
Posters
Box 1 Folder 56
1974-1977
Posters and Miscellaneous Printed Material
Box 1 Folder 57-65
1974-1977
Posters and Miscellaneous Printed Material.
Box 2 Folder 1-19
Folder 16 includes a 1976 edition of Sex: A Fact Book, given to incoming Cornell students
1976-1978
Posters
Box 2 Folder 20-21
1976-77
Nite Court Incident
Box 1 Folder 42-43
n.d.
Photograph
Box 1 Folder 45
n.d.
"The Woman Identified Woman," by Radicalesbians
Box 1 Folder 46
1975
Gay Literature and Cornell University Library
Box 1 Folder 47
1978-79
Gay Literature; Bibliographies
Box 1 Folder 48
1970
Gay Studies
Box 1 Folder 49
1979-80
Cornell Gay Liberation - Counseling
Box 1 Folder 50
1971-76
Correspondence and Clippings re: periodicals, newspapers, radio stations, etc.
Box 1 Folder 51
1974
Gay Activists Alliance
Box 1 Folder 52
1981-83
Clippings
Box 1 Folder 53
1970-71
Student Homophile Handouts
Box 1 Folder 54
1967-69
Student Homophile League of Columbia University
Box 1 Folder 55
Business logs
Box 3
1977
Cornell Gay Liberation Constitution
Box 4 Folder 1
1978-80
Correspondence
Box 4 Folder 2
1978-1983
Correspondence
Box 4 Folder 3
1979
Printed material
Box 4 Folder 4
1981
Printed material
Box 4 Folder 5
1981
Publicity
Box 4 Folder 6
1981
Gay Studies
Box 4 Folder 7
1982
Printed material
Box 4 Folder 8
1982
GAYPAC
Box 4 Folder 9
1982-1983
GAYPAC
Box 4 Folder 10
1983
Printed material
Box 4 Folder 11
1983
Local resources
Box 4 Folder 12
1983
Cornell United Religious Work
Box 4 Folder 13
1983
Printed material
Box 4 Folder 14
1983
NYCLU (New York Civil Liberties Union)
Box 4 Folder 15
1983
Printed material
Box 4 Folder 16
1983
Gay People at Cornell
Box 4 Folder 17
1983
Printed material
Box 4 Folder 18
1983-84
News
Box 4 Folder 19
1983-84
Press releases
Box 4 Folder 20
c. 1984
Printed material
Box 4 Folder 21-24
1984
Gay People at Cornell
Box 4 Folder 25
1984
Printed material
Box 4 Folder 26-27
1985
Printed material
Box 4 Folder 28-30
1985
Correspondence
Box 4 Folder 31
1986-1987
GAYPAC
Box 4 Folder 32
1986-1987
Lesbian and Gay Peer Counselors
Box 4 Folder 33
1987-1988
Printed material
Box 4 Folder 34-35
Cornellesbians
1986-1987
Cornellesbians budget
Box 4 Folder 36
1985-1986
Cornellesbians
Box 4 Folder 37
1986-1987
Cornellesbians
Box 4 Folder 38
1986
Cornellesbians
Box 4 Folder 39
1988-1989
Coalition
Box 4 Folder 40
1986-1989
Printed material
Box 4 Folder 41-42
c. 1990
Events
Box 4 Folder 43
1991
Printed material
Box 4 Folder 44
Psych services
Box 4 Folder 45
1982
Printed material
Box 4 Folder 46
ZAPs
1983
ZAPs training
Box 4 Folder 47
ZAPs
Box 4 Folder 48
1983
ZAPs
Box 4 Folder 49
1986
ZAPs
Box 4 Folder 50-51
1983-1985
Politics
Box 4 Folder 52
c. 1984-1989
Speakers, contacts
Box 4 Folder 53
1984-1985
Performers
Box 4 Folder 54
1980-1985
Bibliographies
Box 4 Folder 55
Book catalogs
Box 4 Folder 56
Books bibliography
Box 4 Folder 57
Books
Box 4 Folder 58
1982
CUGALA (Cornell University Gay and Lesbian Alumni Association) Book Fund
Box 4 Folder 59
Film
Box 4 Folder 60
Office equipment
Box 4 Folder 61
GAYPAC - Notes on Gay/Lesbian Literature at Cornell
Box 5 Folder 1
1992
Women's newsletters and miscellaneous
Box 5 Folder 2
Northeast Lesbian and Gay Student Union Conference
Box 5 Folder 3
1991
Bisexuality Study Correspondence, Gay Press
Box 5 Folder 4
1991
Incoming Mail
Box 5 Folder 5
1991-1992
Incoming Mail
Box 5 Folder 6
1991
E-mail
Box 5 Folder 7-11
Valentines
Box 5 Folder 12
1986, 1991, n.d.
Flyers
Box 5 Folder 13
1990-1992
Flyers
Box 5 Folder 14
1978-1980
Event flyers
Box 5 Folder 15
1984-1992
Budget
Box 9 Folder 23
1986-1988
Kate Clinton Performance
Box 9 Folder 42
Dry-transfer lettering
Box 9 Folder 63
Electronic mailing list guidelines
Box 9 Folder 64
GAYPAC organizational tree
Box 9 Folder 67
1982
Gay and Lesbian Information Project
Box 9 Folder 68
1983
Human Relations Training
Box 9 Folder 75
1990
"I Hate Straights"
Box 9 Folder 76
1984
LABPAD (Lesbian and Gay Political Action and Discussion)
Box 9 Folder 81
1992
LBQ (Lesbian, Bisexual and Questioning Women) meeting minutes
Box 9 Folder 82
Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Resource Office fall programming calendar
Box 9 Folder 83
1997-1998
LGBTRC (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center) pamphlet and Spring 1998 newsletter
Box 9 Folder 84
1986
Lesbian and Gay Awareness month
Box 10 Folder 3
1977-1985
Letters
Box 10 Folder 6
1986-1993
Letters
Box 10 Folder 7
Letters, undated
Box 10 Folder 8
1978-1980
Libraries
Box 10 Folder 9
Magazine sales/distribution
Box 10 Folder 11
May Gay Road Rally
Box 10 Folder 15
Masculinity workshop
Box 10 Folder 16
Meeting minutes - miscellaneous
Box 10 Folder 17
Morrie Angell's statement, GLF response
Box 10 Folder 20
8-track tape
1991
National Coming Out Day/Week
Box 10 Folder 21
Office hours
Box 10 Folder 24
1985-1991
Organizations: Cornell University, Cornellesbians
Box 10 Folder 39
1987-1989
Organizations: Cornell University, Graduate Lambda Association
Box 10 Folder 40
1983-1984
Organizations: LAGPADG (Lesbian and Gay Political Action and Discussion Group), Cornell University
Box 10 Folder 51
1998-1999
Organizations: LGBT Coalition, Cornell University
Box 10 Folder 53
1986
Out of the Darkness
Box 10 Folder 78
1990-1992
Peer counseling: intake sheets
Box 10 Folder 83
1992
Peer counseling: minutes, info
Box 10 Folder 84
Phone lists
Box 10 Folder 85
1978-1984
Petition of Cornell University Policy on Equal Education and Employment Opportunity
Box 10 Folder 87
1984
Petition of Cornell University Policy on Equal Education and Employment Opportunity
Box 10 Folder 88
Possible entertainers to invite
Box 10 Folder 92
Possible future events: movies, performers; or acquisitions of books, magazines, films
Box 10 Folder 93
1976-1992
Press releases (some non-CU)
Box 11 Folder 25
1979-1989
Press releases, other news and information (some non-CU)
Box 11 Folder 26
1969-1979
Records of magazine holdings
Box 11 Folder 32
1993
Resolution to Implement LGB Loving/Learning Unit
Box 11 Folder 36
Student LGB organization contact lists
Box 11 Folder 44
1984
Survey: Cornell's Lesbian and Gay Political Action Group, documenting discrimination of gay, lesbian and bisexual people at Cornell
Box 11 Folder 46-47
Survey: "The experience of gay men and lesbian womyn in the residence halls compared to their 'straight' counterparts (control group)."
Box 11 Folder 48
Survey: "effects of our discussion [during LNC In-Service Training on Gay Sexuality, Awareness, Issues and Counseling]"
Box 11 Folder 49
Surveys: miscellaneous
Box 11 Folder 50
1982
Women's Studies Public Events Program
Box 11 Folder 55
Women's worksheet
Box 11 Folder 56
1976-1984
Newsletters from Cornell Gay Liberation/GAYPAC: Gay News, GAYPAC News, News from GAYPAC, Till Tomorrow
Box 11 Folder 57-58
Oct. 1990-Nov. 1991
Business Log (LGB Coalition)
Box 12 Folder 1
Fall 1991-Spring 1992
Coalition Log
Box 12 Folder 2
Fall 1992-Spring 1993
Logbook
Box 12 Folder 3
Log of Requests and Messages
Box 12 Folder 4
April 11-13, 1986
Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual People of Color Conference
Box 12 Folder 5
1991-1992
From binder labeled "Coalition"
Box 12 Folder 6
Series II. Photographs
Events and meetings
Box 6
Gay graffiti, campus events, picnics
Box 7
1979
Photographs of Ithacans at National March for Gay Rights, Washington, D.C.
Box 10 Folder 86
Series III. Ephemera
1969-70
3 T-shirts
Box 8
a) Two male and two female signs interlinked; silk-screened in Anabel Taylor Hall by people from Cornell who marched in New York City's first Gay Pride March in 1970; the T-shirts were dried on the lawn behind Anabel Taylor and got the attention of the "DU boys" (fraternity).
b) NYSCGO (New York State Council of Gay Organizations) shirt was screened in Anabel Taylor for the second New York City Gay Pride March in 1971; Cornell Student Homophile League was involved in an attempt to create a state organization.
c) "Buck Anita" shirts, referring to Anita Bryant, were sold by Cornell marchers at the June 1970 New York City Gay Pride March to pay for the cost of transportation to the march.
Postcards
Box 10 Folder 94
Posters
1973-1999, undated
Posters
Box 11 Folder 1-18, 20-21
1978-1999
"A Short History of Queer Flyers at Cornell"
Box 11 Folder 19
1974-1990
Originals
Box 11 Folder 22-23
circa 1976-1997
Posters from other organizations
Box 11 Folder 24
Series IV. Subject Files
1970-1973
State of New York Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control: Morrie's boycott
Box 9 Folder 1
ACT-UP
1990
ACT-UP-Ithaca: agenda, minutes
Box 9 Folder 2
1990?
ACT-UP-Ithaca: posters
Box 9 Folder 3
1990-1991
ACT-UP-Ithaca: reports, letter re: political action to Ithaca Journal editorials
Box 9 Folder 4
1989-1990
ACT-UP-New York City
Box 9 Folder 5
1990
ACT-UP-New York City: clippings
Box 9 Folder 6
1992
ACT-UP-New York City
Box 9 Folder 7
1992
ACT-UP-New York City: clippings
Box 9 Folder 8
AIDS
1982
Gannett study
Box 9 Folder 9
1983-1992
Groups
Box 9 Folder 10
1983-1990
Local coverage [some national]
Box 9 Folder 11
1983-1988[?]
Local education efforts
Box 9 Folder 12
1983
Resources
Box 9 Folder 13
Transmission
Box 9 Folder 14
1983
AIDS Awareness Week
Box 9 Folder 15
1987
AIDS Information Table
Box 9 Folder 16
1990
Therapies (AIDS)
Box 11 Folder 52
1983-1984
Adolescent sexuality
Box 9 Folder 17
1976
Albany Legislative Workshop
Box 9 Folder 18
1983
Andriette, Bill: Telluride Associate controversy
Box 9 Folder 19
1984
Beck, Evelyn Torton
Box 9 Folder 20
1991-1993
Bisexual Awareness
Box 9 Folder 21
1979
Body Politic trial
Box 9 Folder 22
Buffalo area gay activities
Box 9 Folder 24
1978-1997
Catalogs: books
Box 9 Folder 29
1993-1995
Catalogs: courses, School for International Training
Box 9 Folder 30
1985-1986
Catalogs: progressive paraphernalia
Box 9 Folder 31
1978-1990
Censorship
Box 9 Folder 32
1987
Chan, June
Box 9 Folder 33
1983
Chicago Resource Center
Box 9 Folder 35
1983-1985
Civil Liberties Alert
Box 9 Folder 36
"Clean Up America" advertisement
Box 9 Folder 37
1976-1991
Clippings: Local coverage
Box 9 Folder 39
1974-1991
Clippings: National coverage
Box 9 Folder 40-41
1978-1982
Clippings and flyers from other organizations and issues
Box 9 Folder 87
Clinton, Bill
Box 9 Folder 43
Coming Out to Your Parents Guide (PFLAG)
Box 9 Folder 44
1998?
Common Ground Calendar of Events
Box 9 Folder 45
Conferences
1982
Black Lesbian Conference, New York City, October 8-10, 1982
Box 9 Folder 46
1982
Celebrate the Movement/Planning the Future, Dallas, Texas, August 13-15, 1982
Box 9 Folder 47
1981
International Conference of Gay and Lesbian Jews, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 20, 1981
Box 9 Folder 48
1986
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual People of Color Conference, Cornell University, April 11-13, 1986
Program and publicity
Box 9 Folder 49
Literature, info for program, brochure
Box 9 Folder 50
White Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual Workshops
Box 9 Folder 51
Straight People of Color Workshop
Box 9 Folder 52
Speech transcriptions
Box 9 Folder 53
1980
National Lesbian and Gay Health Conference, San Francisco State University, June 19-22, 1980
Box 9 Folder 54
1980
New York State Lesbian Conference, Binghamton, April 18-20, 1980
Box 9 Folder 55
1981
New York State Lesbian Conference, Binghamton, April 10-12, 1981
Box 9 Folder 56
1979
Third World Lesbian/Gay Conference, Washington, D.C., October 12-15, 1979
Box 9 Folder 57
1987
Constitution for the New York State Gay/Lesbian Youth Caucus
Box 9 Folder 60