Columbia Queer Alliance
Encyclopedia
Columbia Queer Alliance is the central Columbia University
student organization that representing lesbian
, gay
, bisexual, transgender
and questioning LGBTQ students. It is the oldest such student organization
in the world, originally called the Student Homophile League (SHL), established in 1967.
is commemorated by a plaque in the queer
lounge that bears his name in one of Columbia's residence halls for spearheading the creation of the group.
When the charter was ultimately granted in April 1967 it earned media attention with the New York Times printing a story on the front page, the Columbia Daily Spectator
reported that some students believed that the creation of the group was an April Fool's Day joke. Cornell University
and New York University
also allowed LGBT groups to form causing a wave of LGBT student activism in the years leading up to the Stonewall Rebellion in 1969. One of the early members of SHL was author Arthur Evans
, even though Evans himself was still closeted at the time.
In addition to other activities the group has hosted "First Friday Dances", which at their inception were one of the very few places where college-age LGBT people could socialize with one another.
The CQA oversees and funds a number of smaller queer organizations at Columbia, ranging from religious groups to political groups to discussion groups.
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
student organization that representing lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, bisexual, transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
and questioning LGBTQ students. It is the oldest such student organization
Student society
A student society or student organization is an organization, operated by students at a university, whose membership normally consists only of students. They are often affiliated with a university's students' union...
in the world, originally called the Student Homophile League (SHL), established in 1967.
History
The SHL had twelve members who fought with university administrators for a year before the group was officially recognized. Stephen Donaldson, a bisexual-identified LGBT rights activistActivism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
is commemorated by a plaque in the queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
lounge that bears his name in one of Columbia's residence halls for spearheading the creation of the group.
When the charter was ultimately granted in April 1967 it earned media attention with the New York Times printing a story on the front page, the Columbia Daily Spectator
Columbia Daily Spectator
Columbia Daily Spectator is the daily student newspaper of Columbia University. It is published at 112th and Broadway in New York, New York. Founded in 1877, it is the oldest continuously operating college news daily in the nation after The Harvard Crimson, and has been legally independent of the...
reported that some students believed that the creation of the group was an April Fool's Day joke. Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
and New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
also allowed LGBT groups to form causing a wave of LGBT student activism in the years leading up to the Stonewall Rebellion in 1969. One of the early members of SHL was author Arthur Evans
Arthur Evans (author)
Arthur Scott Evans was an early gay rights advocate and author, most well known for his 1978 book Witchcraft and the Gay Counterculture.-Early life:...
, even though Evans himself was still closeted at the time.
In addition to other activities the group has hosted "First Friday Dances", which at their inception were one of the very few places where college-age LGBT people could socialize with one another.
The CQA oversees and funds a number of smaller queer organizations at Columbia, ranging from religious groups to political groups to discussion groups.