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Corvallis, Oregon State University gay activism
1969-2004
From OutHistory
Contents
Newspaper headline "Gay
women: Coming out of the
closet in Corvallis, 'Now I want
to marry this woman,' "
(Corvallis, Oregon) GazetteT imes, Jan. 9, 1976, p. 7
1 Corvallis, Oregon State
University gay activism:
1969-2004
2 Gay marriage issue 1976
3 Oregon State University gay
students 1908-2010
4 Gay Oregon Professor W.
Dorr Legg 1935
5 Oregon State University gay
research circa 2000
6 Timeline
7 References
8 Contact
9 Categories
Corvallis, Oregon State
University gay activism:
Newspaper article "Gay women:
Coming out of the closet in
Corvallis, 'Now I want to marry
this woman,' " (Corvallis,
Oregon) Gazette-T imes, Jan. 9,
1976, p. 8
1969-2004
This exhibit describes post-Stonewall gay activism at Oregon State University (http://oregonstate.edu/) in
Corvallis, Oregon (http://www.ci.corvallis.or.us/) and events that motivated the formation of the first officially
recognized gay student group at OSU in 1976. [1]
Corvallis, Oregon is a traditional rural college town that has been the home of Oregon State University for more
than a century. The population of Corvallis only recently exceeded 50,000 people, including the more than 20,000
OSU students.
OSU has historically attracted more conservative students to research and educational programs in forestry,
engineering and agricultural science because of these fields importance to the local economy. M ore liberal students
and those seeking a strong liberal arts program have historically favored other state colleges, such as the University
of Oregon, 40 miles to the south in Eugene, Oregon. U of O students used to refer to OSU as "Oregon Straight" or
the "cow college" in reference to the cows actually being raised on campus for various research programs.
Conservative OSU students frequently stereotype U of O students as being "marijuana smoking hippie peaceniks"
that go to a "party school." Therefore, it was surprising that the formation of a gay student group at OSU in 1976
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initially drew no response from the predominantly straight and anti-gay Christian Republican OSU students.
Corvallis, Oregon is located across the Willamette River from Albany, Oregon, the birthplace of "Alberta Lucille
Hart" who lived as the man "Alan Hart" in the early part of the 20th century. Hart's story is documented in
Jonathan Ned Katz's 1976 "Gay American History" book and 1983 "Gay/Lesbian Almanac." [2] [3] (See the
following pages on this site: Alan Hart: "The Undaunted," 1936, Alberta Lucille/Alan Hart (1890-1962) and J.
Allen Gilbert: "Homosexuality and Its Treatment," October 1920.)
Gay marriage issue 1976
A 1976 Corvallis, Oregon newspaper story "Gay women: Coming out of the closet in Corvallis, 'Now I want to
marry this woman,'" sparked numerous angry letters to the editor about such a thing being printed in a "family
newspaper." Several letters threatened to cancel the writer's newspaper subscription. (In the 1970s, both gay men
and lesbians identified as being gay until many women adopted a lesbian identity after objecting to rampant
misogyny and sexism by gay male activists.) One of the women profiled in the newspaper story also came out in a
letter to the editor of her student newspaper. She was active in forming gay women's groups at Oregon State
University. [4] [5]
Although the woman profiled in the
1976 newspaper story considered gay
marriage to be only an emotional feeling
that was an impossible dream, others
believed it was important to establish
the actual equal right to marriage. For
example, when her feelings about gay
marriage were being quoted in 1976,
another OSU graduate student Thomas
Kraemer had for years been actively
May 18, 1970 Michael McConnell and
supporting the gay marriage activism of
Jack Baker were married by Hennepin
the University of M innesota law
County Minnesota Justice of the Peace.
student Jack Baker and Rev. Troy
(See Ken Bronson, "A Quest for Full
Perry. Jack Baker famously took his
Equality," www.may-18-1970.org
marriage case all the way to the U.S.
(http://www.may-18-1970.org)
Supreme Court and lost in 1972.
self-published May 18, 2004) [6]
Kraemer, when he was an undergraduate
at the University of M innesota between
1969 and 1974, had been a member of
Jack Baker's F.R.E.E. (Fight Repression of Erotic Expression) gay liberation group. [7]
Reverend T roy Perry
of the Metropolitan
Community Church
conducting a same-sex
marriage ceremony in
1971. From article
"Homosexuals in
revolt: T he year that
one liberation
movement turned
militant," Life
Magazine, Dec. 31,
1971, p. 70
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In the 1970s, most gay activists dismissed the idea of gay marriage as
being contrary to the goals of both sexual and gay liberation. Baker
and Rev. Perry were angrily denounced as being lunatics, even by
other gay people. [8]
The woman profiled in the 1976 newspaper story, along with several
other students including Thomas Kraemer, formed the first officially
recognized student group at Oregon State University in 1976. [9]
Front page story "Same-sex weddings
OK'd," (Corvallis, Oregon) GazetteT imes, Mar. 17, 2004, profiles two
older lesbian women planning to get
married.
In Oregon, marriage licenses are issued by county officials. In 2004,
the elected Benton County commissioners (where Corvallis is
located) voted to issue gay marriage licenses. A few months later, a
bare majority of Oregon voters banned same-sex marriages with a
state constitutional amendment. The costly signature gathering
process needed to get it on the ballot was sponsored by anti-gay
Christian Republicans as part of President George W. Bush's national
reelection strategy.
Oregon State University gay students 1908-2010
Gay Oregon State University students existed long before
they became open on campus. Research by community
historian George Painter of the Gay and Lesbian Archives of
the Pacific Northwest (GLAPN) (http://www.glapn.org/)
found George Hastings, an Oregon State University football
player in the 1908 and 1910 seasons, was one of the men
linked to gay men arrested in the moral panic of 1912 that was
fanned by a Portland, Oregon newspaper. Tellingly, the
description of George Hastings in the 1912 yearbook (p.164)
uses a euphemism for gay by saying, "He is considerably
lighter than any other halfback playing in the Conference."
Hastings weighed only 135 lbs and was skilled at evading
tacklers. As a result, he was nicknamed "The Artful Dodger."
[10]
George Hastings (top row, left) and the 1910
football team at Oregon Agricultural College
(former name of Oregon State University) as
pictured in "T he 1912 Orange" yearbook, p.
159. Hastings associated with gay men arrested
in a 1912 Portland vice scandal.
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Another gay football player, Esera Tuaolo is probably the most famous openly gay
graduate of Oregon State University. Unfortunately, he felt it was necessary to remain in
the closet as a student athlete in the late 1980s and during his career as an NFL football
player. Professional sports, especially football, remains today as one of the few places
in American society where there are few openly gay people. Clippings about Tuaolo are
available in the OSU Valley Library Oregon M ulticultural Archives
(http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/archives/oma/glbt.html) . [11] [12] [13]
Former Oregon
State University
and NFL football
player Esera
T uaolo comes out
as gay on the cover
of T he Advocate.
[11]
Today, a few Oregon State University students are totally open about their sexuality
and freely appear in the campus newspaper and electronic media without experiencing
any overt homophobia. Unlike decades ago, nearly all OSU students today treat being
gay as if it were no big deal politically. However, many gay OSU students today are still
fearful and unsure about coming out too publicly on campus. Some worry about
becoming victims of harassment or violence. Others worry about coming out causing a
negative effect on their future professional careers. Career minded students are rightfully
fearful because a few of the large corporate employers that recruit on campus have
outright refused to adopt a non-discrimination policy for gay employees. Although OSU
and the city of Corvallis are very gay-friendly, homophobic voters nationwide and
anti-gay churches have sent out a clear message of hate by opposing same-sex marriages.
Gay Oregon Professor W. Dorr Legg 1935
Although queer students and staff at Oregon State University were not out of the
closet until the 1970s, they for sure existed. For example, W. Dorr Legg (1904-1994)
in 1935 was appointed to be an assistant professor of landscape architecture at a state
university in Oregon. Dorr Legg was a founder of the "homophile" activism
movement. He was also a founder of what was to become the present day gay
Republican Log Cabin Club. (Note: various historical accounts disagree whether this
was the University of Oregon in Eugene or Oregon State University in Corvallis. The
confusion is likely because OSU has changed its name several times over the years and
historians from out-of-state often confuse the two colleges.) [14] [15]
Oregon State University gay research circa 2000
W. Dorr Legg
(1904-1994) in 1935
was appointed assistant
professor of landscape
architecture at a state
university in Oregon.
Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon has world-class facilities and faculty
that have conducted research on animal's sexual orientation. Although the main goal of
their research is to understand the fundamentals of biology and genetics, it hits
directly at the "nature vs. nurture" question: "Is being gay a choice?" Ex-gay preachers
and social constructionists believe that being gay is a choice or at a minimum it is
defined by society or the individual. Biological essentialists believe that sexual
orientation is hardwired in either at birth or very early in the development of an
animal. Some people consider the answer to be important because many people believe discrimination against a
"gay lifestyle choice" should be legal. Some believe that discrimination against gay people will be outlawed if it can
be proved that sexual orientation is immutable as the color of your skin. However, others believe the "nature or
nurture" question is irrelevant because even race is a social construction and they point out that religious
discrimination is illegal despite the fact that you can choose your own religion.
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Similar to all higher-level animal research, Oregon State University's research
on gay sheep has drawn protests from PETA (People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals). Also, some gay activists object to this research
because they worry it will be misused to establish that homosexuality is a
pathological disorder that can be treated or cured. After all, the ultimate
experiment to understand the origins of same-sex behavior in animals is an
experiment that can arbitrarily turn on or off homosexual behavior by
modifying an animal's genetics or development process in a controlled manner.
An interesting finding from the gay sheep research is that a certain percentage
of sheep are asexual in addition to the existence of gay and bisexual sheep in
nature. Decades ago, Alfred Kinsey observed a similar percentage of asexual
humans. [17] [18] Commercial breeders have always considered homosexual and
asexual sheep to be a waste of resources because they won't breed. M uch of
the early research has been aimed at finding ways to detect and eliminate such
sheep early in their development to increase breeding efficiencies. [9] [19]
Oregon State University
student T ess Jarmain escorts
four male-oriented
(homosexual) rams (a.k.a. "gay
sheep") in OSU's flock back to
pasture. [16]
Same-sex Drosophila (aka "gay fruit fly") sexual behavior has been a lab
curiosity for decades. Common fruit flies are a favorite research animal
because they are easy to breed in large numbers and their biological
structures are orders of magnitude simpler than many other animals. Unlike
most academic research topics, fruit fly research papers are difficult to
understand even by scientists trained in a related field. However, it is clear to
educated observers that fruit fly researchers, including those at Oregon State
University, have made great progress toward being able to arbitrarily turn on
or off certain characteristics in fruit flies, including their sexual orientation.
How this knowledge will extrapolate to a better understanding of human
biology is yet to be determined. The human question is not being ignored
because both gay fruit fly research and gay sheep research is being conducted
in collaboration with researchers at the Oregon Health Sciences University
medical school and hospital for humans in Portland, Oregon approximately
eighty miles north of Corvallis. [9] [20]
T he cover of the June 3, 2005
issue of the journal Cell showed
same-sex Drosophila ("gay fruit
fly") sexual behavior. Oregon
State University professors and
students are doing some of the
gay fruit fly research.
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Academic research on homosexuals occurred long before the 1969 Stonewall
riot. For example, Oregon State University professor Lester A. Kirkendall
was recognized worldwide as one of the early academic sex researchers who
sought to bring rationality to sex research. During the anti-communist and
anti-gay moral panic of the 1950s started by Sen. Joe M cCarthy, Oregon
leaders asked the learned and distinguished Dr. Kirkendall to write a small
pamphlet for Oregon parents to read about the threat of homosexuality.
Typical of the era, the first paragraph of Kirkendall's 1953 eight-page booklet
more or less equated homosexuals with child molesters, but later in the
booklet Kirkendall correctly says that "sexual deviates" are not all child
molesters and that child molestation does not cause "sexual deviance" while
repeating the dogma of his time:
"Those person, men and women who commit acts generally described as
sexual molestation are technically called sex deviates because their sexual
outlets deviate from what we call normal. Sexual deviation takes many
different forms. The most common are exhibitionism (the desire to display
the sexual organs to others, peeping, homosexuality (the desire for sexual
relations with members of the same sex), and pedophilia (desire for sexual
play or sexual relations with children.) Actual molestation may involve
fondling of the sex organs, rape, or acts in which natural openings into the
body other than the genitals are used for sexual purposes (sodomy).
Cover of an eight page booklet
by Oregon State University
professor Lester A. Kirkendall,
"Parents, children and the sex
molester," published by the
E.C. Brown T rust for T he
Oregon Coorinating Council on
Social Hygiene and Family Life,
Portland, Oregon 1953 [21]
"We used to call people who did these things perverts, implying that their form of sexual expression was
deliberately chosen. We classed these people with the town drunk and believed that if they only had more "will
power" they would stop their evil ways. Today we know the alcoholic and the sex deviate both are really sick
people who cannot be cured by punishment, but who may be helped by scientific diagnosis and treatment."
[21] [22]
Timeline
The creation of the first officially recognized gay student group at Oregon State University in 1976 was inspired
by similar types of student activism at OSU and other universities. The contemporaneous women's liberation
movement and the 1969 Stonewall riot were key motivators. Below is a timeline of key events which influenced
the history of OSU gay student groups. [23] [24]
October 1964
University of California Berkeley students start the "Free Speech M ovement." Longtime Corvallis, Oregon
resident, Dunbar Aitkens, is a participant. Aitkens was one of the leaders of early gay rights activities in Corvallis,
Oregon. [25]
April 1967
Columbia University (New York) officially recognizes the "Student Homophile League" as a student group. [26]
[27]
June 1969
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Stonewall Inn riot in New York City marks a shift from the older generation of conservative homophile activists to
a younger, more militant type of gay activist. [26] [27]
October 1969
University of M innesota officially recognizes a student club for "gays and sympathizers" called F.R.E.E. (Fight
Repression of Erotic Expression). University of M innesota's Board of Regents tightens club recognition policy in
response. [26] [27]
M arch 1970
University of California Berkeley students stage "gay power" demonstrations and guerrilla theater skits. Longtime
Corvallis, Oregon resident and gay activist, Dunbar Aitkens, is arrested for doing with another man in public what
heterosexual couples regularly do in public without being arrested. [28]
M ay 1970
University of M innesota F.R.E.E. group issues press release to announce that Jack Baker and M ichael M cConnell
will be applying for a marriage license. M innesota marriage law does not specify gender. University of
M innesota's Board of Regents vote to withdraw a librarian job offer from M ichael M cConnell in response to his
marriage announcement. [6] [26] [27]
July 1970
University of Nebraska approves Prof. Louis Compton's homophile studies course. [26] [27]
April, 1971
University of M innesota, openly gay, law student Jack Baker is elected to his
first of two terms as student body president. [6] [26] [27]
M ay 1971
Oregon repeals the state sodomy law as part of a comprehensive overhaul of
blue laws. Previously, Oregon's sodomy law had been changed after an
anti-gay moral panic of 1912 that resulted in the arrest of many gay men. The
old sodomy law specified a punishment of up to 15 years in jail and it
prudishly defined sodomy as being both anal sex and oral sex including the
licking of the anus or genitals by either homosexuals or heterosexuals. This is
why liberal heterosexual state legislators supported the change, even though
they were forced to make a compromise raising the age-of-consent to 18. [26]
[27] [29] [30] [31]
June 1971
Columbia University Students protest the college president and black student
group's claim that gays are not a legitimate minority. [26] [27]
July 1971
University of Kansas refuses to recognize gay student group. Famous civil
rights attorney William Kunstler agrees to take the case, but loses it on appeal
when the Supreme Court refuses to hear the case. [26] [27]
University of Minnesota,
openly gay, law student Jack
Baker is elected to his first of
two terms as student body
president wearing high heels in
a poster with the caption "Put
Yourself in Jack Baker's shoes!"
April 1971
October 1972
University of M innesota law student Jack Baker has his marriage license revoked by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling
that said his appeal was "dismissed for want of substantial federal question." The court essentially said that
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marriages are defined by state and not federal laws. [6] [26] [27]
January 1973
Oregon school teacher Peggy Burton, who had been fired for being a lesbian, wins in federal court, but loses two
years later when the Supreme Court refuses to hear the case. [26] [27]
January 1973
Oregon State University Women's Study Center
opens as a six month experiment. The Women's
Center is a success and it permanently occupies
an old building that was about to be demolished.
It soon became the center of gay activism at OSU
until 2004 when the Pride Center building opened.
[32] [26] [27]
Ex-gay meeting notice: "How
can a trend toward
homosexuality be reversed?"
(Barometer, Jan. 28, 1976, p.
2)
December
1973
American
Psychiatric
Association
votes to
remove
Student newspaper article, "Center orients women to man's
world," Barometer, Sep. 25, 1975, p. 33, recounts history of
the Women's Center. T he headline appears to be
unintentionally sexist.
homosexuality from the official list of mental disorders. Today, coercive
medical treatments that attempt to change a person's sexual orientation have
been banned by all major health organizations for being unethical. [26] [27]
Campus ex-gay groups predated gay-friendly student groups. These groups were usually led by a campus minister
who wanted to "help" homosexual students become straight via prayer and unethical psychotherapy. Today,
several Corvallis churches are still sponsoring ex-gay groups on campus. Ex-gays typically settle for celibacy
because most admit to retaining their same-sex desires for ever.
June 1974
Portland, Oregon and Los Angeles police are caught illegally keeping secret files on citizens they suspect of being
homosexual. Police defend their actions as needed to fight "terrorism." [26] [27]
December 1974
Portland, Oregon city council votes 3-2 to ban anti-gay discrimination in municipal employment. [26] [27]
June 1975
University of Oregon journalism graduate, Randy Shilts, is hired as a reporter for The Advocate (then a national
gay newspaper) by the editor John Preston. Both men later become well known gay authors. Randy Shilts is most
famous for his reporting on AIDS for the San Francisco Chronicle during the 1980s before he died from AIDS. [26]
[27]
October 1975
Oregon State University Experimental College classes on homosexuality included: "Gay Women's Consciousness
Raising" (Instructor: Peggy Jo Nulsen); "FREE 2 B U.N. M E!" (Instructors: Steve Rowe and Dunbar Aitkens of
1460 SW 'A' Avenue); and "Sexual Stereotypes in the Bible" (Instructor: Eric Landau, who represented the then
anti-gay campus religious organization Westminster House) [33]
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October 1975
Oregon State University Black Cultural Center officially opens at 2320 NW M onroe. [34]
November 1975
Front page of Barometer features the resignation
of the legendary Oregon State University football
coach and soon to be athletic director, Dee
Andros, directly above a photograph of naked
OSU streakers. [35]
January 1976
Oregon State University student newspaper,
"The Barometer," prints an editorial by managing
editor Bob Goldstein defending the two-page long
Corvallis Gazette-Times newspaper article
featuring lesbians who wanted to get married. The
G-T was flooded with angry letters and
subscription cancellations for just mentioning
homosexuality in a so-called "family newspaper."
[36] [4]
A letter to the editor of "The Barometer"
Oregon State University students streaking through the dorm
by longtime Corvallis, Oregon resident Dunbar
quad on Halloween night in 1975. T he national college fad
Aitkens and Steve Rowe praises the editor's
of streaking started in the 1970s. (Barometer, Nov. 3, 1975,
position, but student John Wilkins writes in to
p. 1)
accuse the editor of having poor judgment and no
values. [37] [38] One of the women profiled in the
article came out in a letter to the editor of her student newspaper and she was active in early gay women's groups
at Oregon State University.
M arch 1976
Oregon State University Native American Longhouse is dedicated M arch 23, 1976 in a blessing ceremony led by
Gilbert Walking Bull. [39]
M arch 1976
Oregon State University announces that tuition will be $179 per term ($240 per term including incidental fees such
as $16.50 for health insurance). Dormitory room and board (with 19 meals per week plan) in Weatherford Hall is
projected to cost $1,140 per school year. Typical student jobs pay less than two dollars per hour. [40]
April 1976
Oregon State University Barometer April Fools Day edition includes an advice column headlined, "Lassie not
gay." The column's "M r. Answer" claims that the rumors about the popular TV dogs Lassie and Rin Tin Tin being
married to each other are not true. This joke is culturally significant because homosexuality has historically been
associated with bestiality. [41]
April 1976
Oregon State University student projectionist refuses to show the sexually graphic movie "Emmanuelle" because it
violated his Christian values. He ends up instead showing the violent and bloody movie "Dirty Harry," starring
Clint Eastwood. The hypocrisy of this is pointed out in a letter to the editor by longtime Corvallis resident and
gay activist Dunbar Aitkens. [42]
M ay 1976
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Ronald Reagan holds a rally on the Oregon State University campus while running against President Gerald Ford
in the Oregon Republican Primary. Reagan does not win the presidency until 1980. President Reagan was highly
criticized in the 1980s for his delayed reaction to the AIDS tragedy. [43]
September 1976
A print ad for "The Gay Parfait" restaurant and ice cream parlor at 340 N.W.
5th Steet appears in the Barometer. Also located in downtown Corvallis was a
men's clothing store named "The Gay Blade." Both businesses eventually
dropped the word "gay" from their names after "gay" became commonly
associated with being homosexual. [44]
September 1976
National Organization of Women (NOW) chapter is organized in Corvallis.
M any lesbian women were actively involved in starting the women's
movement. [45]
T he Gay Blade Clothes For
Men store in Corvallis, Oregon
circa 1975. T he store soon
changed its name to T he Blade
after "gay" became associated
with being homosexual.
October 1976
Oregon State University black cultural center is vandalized and a burning cross
is placed on the front lawn. Several students are caught and the university
president gives them an "unspecified punishment," which upsets many people on campus as being too lenient. [46]
October 1976
Society for the Advancement of Women (SAW) is denied funding by the student council. [47]
October 1976
Oregon State University Barometer editor, Bob Goldstein, writes an editorial on sex change operations titled "New
type of sexism." This is the first mention of transsexual or transgendered people in the Barometer. Intersex
conditions would not be mentioned until years later. [48]
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November 1976
Oregon State University gay students meet on November 4 in
the Women's Center to form the first officially recognized gay
student group. The weekly meeting agendas are discreetly
printed with tiny 6-point type in the Barometer student
newspaper's "Campus" calendar section. The microfilm copies
are nearly illegible, but the complete text of each meeting
announcement is as follows:
November 4, 1976
Center for Women's Studies has an open discussion to
ascertain the needs of gay people. How does a person deal
with "his-her" homosexuality-bisexuality in this community?
7 P.M . [49]
November 11, 1976
Gay men and women meeting - 7 PM - Center for Women's
Studies. Discuss needs of gay men and women in this
community. How does one deal with "his-her" homosexualitybisexuality? [50]
November 18, 1976
Gay people - 7 PM - Center for Women's Studies. M eet to
plan social and educational activities. [51]
Announcement for first gay student group at
Oregon State University. T he almost illegible
microfilm copy says, "Center for Women's
Studies has an open discussion to ascertain the
needs of gay people. How does a person deal
with "his-her" homosexuality-bisexuality in this
community? 7 P.M." (Barometer, Nov. 4,
1976, p. 15)
December 2, 1976
Gay people - 7 PM Center for Women's Studies. Discuss organization and future activities. [52]
April 1977
Oregon's M ultnomah County M edical Association polls Portland area doctors and finds that 80 percent would
refuse to treat gay patients. This problem became even worse when AIDS struck in the 1980s. M edical
professionals often refused to treat gay men due to the fear of getting AIDS. Furthermore, many doctors continued
to treat homosexuality as a mental illness despite the 1973 decision by the American Psychiatric Association and
later decisions by other mental health organizations. [26] [27]
June 1977
Eugene, Oregon's city council votes 5-3 to make it illegal to discriminate against homosexuals. [26] [27]
M ay 1978
Eugene, Oregon citizens vote (61 percent to 39 percent) to repeal the city's ordinance protecting homosexuals
from discrimination. Local anti-gay leaders wisely rejected help from singer Anita Bryant's national religious
organization which was lobbying to repeal similar laws in other cities across the country. Instead of trying to
convince non-religious Eugene voters with Anita Bryant's religious based argument, opponents of the pro-gay
ordinance falsely claimed it was a "special right," which was not needed because homosexuals were already
protected under law. An anti-gay Colorado campaign in the 1990s also adopted this non-religious "no special
rights for gays" political slogan and in 2004 Oregon backers of an anti-gay marriage amendment successfully duped
voters with it again. [26] [27]
M ay 1978
Oregon congressman U.S. Rep. James Weaver of Eugene is targeted for defeat by national Republican groups
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because he sponsored a federal gay non-discrimination act. Political operatives attended church meetings and
smeared Weaver by calling him "anti-Christian" and "anti-family." Gerrymandering has historically included all of
Eugene and parts of Corvallis within Weaver's congressional district. [26] [27]
M ay 1982
Eddie Hickey's GPA (Gay People's Alliance ) student group funding request
for the 1982-1983 school-year of $100 culminated unsuccessfully in 1982
after a heated campus-wide debate. [53] The $100 request was out of a total
student incidental fees budget of over $4,400,000. ($87.78 per term incidental
fees times 3 terms times 16,743 students enrolled) [54] [55] [56]
April 1984
The discovery of HIV being the likely cause of AIDS is announced. M any
people associated with Oregon State University died of AIDS, including Eddie
Hickey and his lover Scott. Anti-gay politicians cruelly exploited the AIDS
tragedy to demonize homosexuals and to justify the firing of gay workers.
Before a test for HIV was developed, gay men were rationally barred from
donating blood to prevent infecting others. Today, even celibate and HIV
negative gay men are still barred from donating blood even though a
government medical advisory panel sees no reason for keeping this ban other
than prejudice. [57] [26] [27]
Eddie Hickey and his lover
M ay 9, 1984
Scott, who were two of the
OSU Newsmagazine in-Edition,
early leaders of the Gay
M ay 9, 1984 cover story by
People's Alliance (GPA)
Tami Brucker, "Lifestyles,
student group at Oregon State
Happy and Gay at OSU" was
University, shown in a
inserted in the official student
newspaper article by Barbara
newspaper The Daily
Curtin, "Monday Profile: OSU
Barometer. The feature article
Student not afraid to be
"Gay lifestyles at Oregon
different," Gazette-T imes
'Straight,' Some cope openly,
Monday, July 26, 1982, p. 11.
fears closet others" did an
Note the comb handle sticking
astounding job covering many
out of Eddie Hickey's back
aspects of "gay lifestyles" at
jeans pocket. T his was a
Student newspaper story "Gay
Oregon State University. The
fashion
statement in 1982.
Lifestyles at 'Oregon Straight,' "
article also summarized the
Barometer May 9, 1984, in-Edition
history of Eddie Hickey who
section p. 2
lobbied the student government to fund the gay student group and
who along with his lover Scott later died from AIDS. In 2000, the
Associated Press AP stylebook (http://www.apstylebook.com/) amended the gay entry so that it specifically
discouraged references to a "gay lifestyle." [58]
November 1999
Oregon State University "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Alliance" (LGBTA) votes (10-8) to change
its name to the "Rainbow Continuum" in order to be more inclusive of all sexual and gender identities. M any group
members preferred the name "Queers and Allies" (Q & A) as a way of taking back the word "queer" from people
who use it as an insult. Some thought it would be confused with Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow group. The
Rainbow Continuum student group name was still in use as of 2010 perhaps because gay students like its "on the
down low" profile. [59]
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M arch 2001
Oregon State University Student Fees committee voted (7-0) to approve funding for the "Queer Resource Center."
Opponents of the QRC vowed to continue their fight to stop this new cultural center. The QRC is housed in a
former closet of the Women's Center. Except for later gay marriage debates, this was the last time a few students
still felt free to openly, in the campus media, advocate discrimination against gay people just for being gay.
Anti-gay and homophobic feelings undoubtedly still exist, but they are being publicly suppressed by the
mainstream students, which has led to claims by Christian Republican students that they are now the "victims" of
political correctness and censorship. [60]
October 2004
New "Pride Center" opens at 1553 SW 'A' Avenue. OSU President Ed Ray cut the ribbon at the official opening
on "National Coming Out Day," October 11, 2004. Unlike on most campuses where the gay student center shares
space with other student groups, the Pride Center is a small standalone building on the edge of campus near a
dormitory block. The Pride Center name was carefully chosen to avoid controversy and to lower its visibility by
deleting all references to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer in its name. Instead of using the generic words
gay or queer, the acronym LGBT or LGBTQQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and
intersex) has become the "politically correct" terminology when it is needed for clarity. Old-time gay liberationists
are happy to see the open support of university officials, but they criticize the "on the down low" approach
because they worry it sends gay students back into a virtual closet. [61]
References
1. ↑ Thomas Kraemer, "OSU first gay student group," thomaskraemer.blogspot.com posted M ay 14, 2008,
accessed Jan. 30, 2010 (http://thomaskraemer.blogspot.com/2008/05/osu-first-gay-student-group.html)
2. ↑ Jonathan Ned Katz, "Gay American history: lesbians and gay men in the U.S.A.," Crowell, 1976, p. 258
(http://books.google.com/books?id=2_zaAAAAM AAJ)
3. ↑ Jonathan Ned Katz, "Gay/Lesbian Almanac, A New Documentary," Harper Colophon, Harper & Row,
1983, p. 516-522 (http://books.google.com/books?id=YJ2wQgAACAAJ)
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Anne Wood, "Gay women: Coming out of the closet in Corvallis, 'Now I want to marry this
woman,'" Gazette-Times (Corvallis, Oregon), Jan. 9, 1976, p. 7-8
5. ↑ Thomas Kraemer, "Gay 1976 newspaper controversy," thomaskraemer.blogspot.com posted M ay 3,
2006, accessed Jan. 30, 2010 (http://thomaskraemer.blogspot.com/2006/05/gay-1976-newspapercontroversy.html)
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Ken Bronson, "A Quest for Full Equality," www.may-18-1970.org self-published M ay 18,
2004, p. 6-7, 48 (PDF) (http://www.may-18-1970.org/Quest.pdf)
7. ↑ Thomas Kraemer, "Life M agazine gay marriage 1971," thomaskraemer.blogspot.com posted Nov. 20,
2008, accessed Jan. 30, 2010 (http://thomaskraemer.blogspot.com/2008/11/life-magazine-gay-marriage1971.html)
8. ↑ Thomas Kraemer, "Jack Baker & M ichael M cConnell: Lunatics or Geniuses?" GayToday.com published
online Jun. 21, 2004 (http://gaytoday.com/people/062104pe.asp)
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Thomas Kraemer, "Gay OSU Beavers history," thomaskraemer.blogspot.com posted Jan. 28,
2009, accessed Feb. 1, 2010 (http://thomaskraemer.blogspot.com/2009/01/gay-osu-beavers-history.html)
10. ↑ Thomas Kraemer, "OSU gay football player 1908," thomaskraemer.blogspot.com posted Jun. 19, 2008,
accessed Feb. 1, 2010 (http://thomaskraemer.blogspot.com/2008/06/osu-gay-football-player-1908.html)
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Bruce C. Steele, "Tackling football's closet," The Advocate, Nov. 26, 2002, cover story, pp. 3,
30-39
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12. ↑ Thomas Kraemer, "OSU gay sports panel," thomaskraemer.blogspot.com posted Oct. 17, 2008, accessed
Feb. 1, 2010 (http://thomaskraemer.blogspot.com/2008/10/osu-gay-sports-panel.html)
13. ↑ Thomas Kraemer, "OSU Esera Tuaolo gay football star," thomaskraemer.blogspot.com posted Aug. 12,
2006, accessed Feb. 1, 2010 (http://thomaskraemer.blogspot.com/2006/08/osu-esera-tuaolo-gay-footballstar.html)
14. ↑ Thomas Kraemer, "Gay Oregon Professor 1935," thomaskraemer.blogspot.com posted Sep. 16, 2006,
accessed Feb. 1, 2010 (http://thomaskraemer.blogspot.com/2006/09/gay-oregon-professor-1935.html)
15. ↑ Wayne R. Dynes, "W. Dorr Legg (1904-1994)" in Vern L. Bullough, editor, Before Stonewall: Activists
for Gay and Lesbian Rights in Historical Context, Routledge, 2002, pp. 94-102 (http://books.google.com
/books?id=A7x_VnES2esC&q=%22W+Dorr+Legg%22#v=snippet&q=%22W%20Dorr%20Legg%22&
f=false)
16. ↑ M ary Ann Albright, "The science of rams and sexuality: Not all seek ewes," Gazette-Times, August 12,
2005, photo by Tiffany Brown (http://www.gazettetimes.com/news/local/article_889425fd3501-5b48-88ce-8c7ef302ae01.html)
17. ↑ Alfred Charles Kinsey, Wardell Baxter Pomeroy, Clyde Eugene M artin, "Sexual Behavior in the Human
M ale," W. B. Saunders Co., 1948, Fig. 169, p. 656 (http://books.google.com/books?id=95iFAAAAIAAJ&
q=Figure+169.+Heterosexual-homosexual)
18. ↑ Thomas Kraemer, "Asexuals, 'fourth' sexual orientation - Scientific American,"
thomaskraemer.blogspot.com posted Nov. 14, 2009, accessed Feb. 4, 2010
(http://thomaskraemer.blogspot.com/2009/11/asexuals-fourth-sexual-orientation.html)
19. ↑ Thomas Kraemer, "OSU Gay Sheep NY Times," thomaskraemer.blogspot.com posted Feb. 7, 2007,
accessed Feb. 1, 2010 (http://thomaskraemer.blogspot.com/2007/02/osu-gay-sheep-ny-times.html)
20. ↑ Thomas Kraemer, "OSU gay fruit fly sex research," thomaskraemer.blogspot.com posted Sep. 16, 2006,
accessed Feb. 1, 2010 (http://thomaskraemer.blogspot.com/2006/09/osu-gay-fruit-fly-sex-research.html)
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Lester A. Kirkendall, "Parents, children and the sex molester," published by the E.C. Brown
Trust for The Oregon Coorinating Council on Social Hygiene and Family Life, Portland, Oregon 1953
(Oregon State University library card catalog Library of Congress call number HQ71 .K5)
(http://oasis.orst.edu/search~S13?/cHQ71+.K5/chq+++71+k5/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB
/frameset&FF=chq+++71+k5&1%2C1%2C)
22. ↑ Thomas Kraemer, "OSU sex molester education 1953," thomaskraemer.blogspot.com posted Sep. 12,
2008, accessed Feb. 1, 2010 (http://thomaskraemer.blogspot.com/2008/09/osu-sex-molester-education1953.html)
23. ↑ Thomas Kraemer, "OSU gay student group history," thomaskraemer.blogspot.com posted M ay 3, 2006,
accessed Jan. 30, 2010 (http://thomaskraemer.blogspot.com/2006/05/osu-gay-student-group-history.html)
24. ↑ Thomas Kraemer, "OSU queer history month speech," thomaskraemer.blogspot.com posted Sep. 30,
2006, accessed Jan. 30, 2010 (http://thomaskraemer.blogspot.com/2006/09/osu-queer-history-monthspeech.html)
25. ↑ M eredith M ay, "40 years on, Free Speechers talk all they want," San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 11, 2004,
p. B-5 (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/10/11/BAG0K970R11.DTL&
type=printable)
26. ↑ 26.00 26.01 26.02 26.03 26.04 26.05 26.06 26.07 26.08 26.09 26.10 26.11 26.12 26.13 26.14 26.15 26.16 26.17 26.18
26.19 26.20
M ark Thompson, editor, "Long road to freedom: The Advocate history of the gay and lesbian
movement," St. M artin's Press, 1994 (http://books.google.com/books?id=fdImHQAACAAJ)
27. ↑ 27.00 27.01 27.02 27.03 27.04 27.05 27.06 27.07 27.08 27.09 27.10 27.11 27.12 27.13 27.14 27.15 27.16 27.17 27.18
27.19 27.20
Dudley Clendinen and Adam Nagourney, "Out for good: The struggle to build a gay rights
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movement in America," Simon & Schuster, 1999 (http://books.google.com/books?id=zNeGAAAAIAAJ)
28. ↑ "Social Protest Collection," Container 8: Gay M ovement (BANC M SS 86/157c), The Bancroft Library,
University of California, Berkeley, as referenced by "Gay Bears: Campus Police"
sunsite3.berkeley.edu/gaybears/police (http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/gaybears/police) accessed July 14, 2005
29. ↑ Donald Webster Cory, "The Homosexual in America," Greenberg, 1951, Appendix B, p. 289
(http://books.google.com/books?id=c2JqAAAAM AAJ&q=%22sustain+osculatory+relations%22)
30. ↑ Thomas Kraemer, "Oregon blue laws circa 1950," thomaskraemer.blogspot.com posted Sept. 7, 2006,
accessed Feb. 3, 2010 (http://thomaskraemer.blogspot.com/2006/09/oregon-blue-laws-circa-1950.html)
31. ↑ Thomas Kraemer, "M ayor Sam Adams vs. Clinton," thomaskraemer.blogspot.com posted Jan. 22, 2009,
accessed Feb. 3, 2010 (http://thomaskraemer.blogspot.com/2009/01/mayor-sam-adams-vs-clinton.html)
32. ↑ Barometer, (Oregon State University's official student newspaper) Sept. 25, 1975, p. 33
33. ↑ Barometer, Oct. 2, 1975, p. 10-15 and M ay 11, 1976, p.2
34. ↑ Barometer, Sept. 25, 1975, p. 44
35. ↑ Barometer, Nov. 3, 1975, p. 1
36. ↑ Barometer, Jan. 14, 1976, p. 4
37. ↑ Barometer, Jan. 22, 1976, p. 4
38. ↑ Corvallis Gazette-Times, Jan. 20, 1976, p. 4
39. ↑ Barometer, Apr. 5, 1976, p. 5
40. ↑ Barometer, Feb. 23, 1976, p. 1 and M ar. 31, 1976, p. 1
41. ↑ Barometer, Apr. 1, 1976, p. 15
42. ↑ Barometer, Apr. 27, 1976, p. 1, Apr. 28, p. 4, Apr. 29, p. 5, Apr. 30, p. 3
43. ↑ Barometer, M ay 24, 1976, p. 1
44. ↑ Barometer, Sep. 22, 1976, p. 39
45. ↑ Barometer, Sep. 30, 1976, p. 10
46. ↑ Barometer, Oct. 20, 1976, p. 1, Oct. 21, p. 4, Oct. 22, p. 1, Oct. 25, p. 1, 11
47. ↑ Barometer, Oct. 20, 1976, p. 1
48. ↑ Barometer, Oct. 13, 1976, p. 4
49. ↑ Barometer, Nov. 4, 1976, p. 15
50. ↑ Barometer, Nov. 10-11, 1976, p. 11
51. ↑ Barometer, Nov. 18, 1976, p. 11
52. ↑ Barometer, Dec. 2, 1976 p. 15
53. ↑ Patty Keiper, "Arbitration vote defeats GPA request," Barometer, M ay 12, 1982, p.1
54. ↑ Barometer, Oct. 28, 1982
55. ↑ Thomas Kraemer, "OSU gay funding defeat 1982," thomaskraemer.blogspot.com posted Aug. 2, 2006,
accessed Feb. 1, 2010 (http://thomaskraemer.blogspot.com/2006/08/osu-gay-funding-defeat-1982.html)
56. ↑ Thomas Kraemer, "OSU 1982 GT Eddie Hickey article," thomaskraemer.blogspot.com posted Oct. 1,
2007, accessed Feb. 1, 2010 (http://thomaskraemer.blogspot.com/2007/10/osu-1982-gt-eddie-hickeyarticle.html)
57. ↑ Thomas Kraemer, "OSU Corvallis AIDS story 1994," thomaskraemer.blogspot.com posted Jul. 27, 2009,
accessed Feb. 3, 2010 (http://thomaskraemer.blogspot.com/2009/07/osu-corvallis-aids-story-1994.html)
58. ↑ Thomas Kraemer, "OSU gay lifestyles 1984" thomaskraemer.blogspot.com posted Jul. 23, 2006, accessed
Feb. 1, 2010 (http://thomaskraemer.blogspot.com/2006/07/osu-gay-lifestyles-1984.html)
59. ↑ Barometer, November 3, 1999, p. 1
60. ↑ Barometer, M ar. 15, 2001, p. 1
61. ↑ Barometer, October 12, 2004, p. 1
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thomaskraemer.blogspot.com
(http://thomaskraemer.blogspot.com/)
Email: outhistory@gc.cuny.edu
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Comment:
T homas Kraemer in 1976 wearing a t-shirt with
the slogan "touching your lifestyle" created by
the new publisher of "T he Advocate" David B.
Goodstein. (See Dudley Clendinen and Adam
Nagourney, "Out for Good: the struggle to build
a gay rights movement in America," Simon &
Schuster, 1999, Chp. 18 and p. 251
(http://books.google.com
/books?id=6zRFBGT SgoUC&
q=%22touching+your+lifestyle%22) )
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Comments on Corvallis, Oregon State University gay activism 1969-2004
LaurenGutterman said ...
11:30, 1 February 2010 (EST)
This is a great start. Keep up the good work!
Corvallis said ...
17:13, 4 July 2010 (EST)
W. Dorr Legg (1904-1994) was an assistant professor of Landscape Architecture at Oregon State University from
1936 to 1942. Dorr Legg, whose birth name is William Lambert, was a founder of the "homophile" activism
movement. He was also a founder of what was to become the present day gay Republican Log Cabin Club. (Note:
various historical accounts disagree whether this was the University of Oregon in Eugene or Oregon State
University in Corvallis. The confusion is likely because OSU has changed its name several times over the years
and one page in Legg's FBI investigation file erroneously refers to U of O when the context of the memo is clearly
referring to Corvallis and not Eugene. Numerous other pages in the FBI investigation file clearly refer to Oregon
State College (a former name of Oregon State University) in Corvallis. Historians from out-of-state often confuse
the two colleges.)
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