Columbia LGBT records, 1961-1990, bulk 1967-1989

After clicking 'Submit Request', users will login with their UNI and password (Columbia affiliates) or their special collections account (external users). Appointments are required and will be arranged according to each individual repository's policy.


Series IV: Activities, 1967-1989

Arranged in four subseries, this series documents the various activities pursed by the Student Homophile League (SHL), Gay People at Columbia-Barnard (GPCB) and Columbia Gay and Lesbian Alliance (CGLA).


Subseries IV.1: Earl Hall Dances, 1970-1986

Organized chronologically, this subseries consists of event fliers, income statements, inventories, receipts, ticket sale reports, and handwritten memos for the gay dances organized by the Student Homophile League (SHL), Gay People at Columbia-Barnard (GPCB), and Columbia Gay and Lesbian Alliance (CGLA) in the 1970s and 1980s. The earliest material dates to 1970, when the organization was still known as the Student Homophile League. These dances were well known throughout New York City's gay community and were attended by non-students as well as Columbia students. The final folder in the subseries consists of a blank copy of a 1986 questionnaire in which dance attendees are asked to provide personal information, evaluate their experiences of the dances and suggest improvements.



Box 1 Dances to 1971 1970-1971, 1971, 1970-1971


Box 1 Dance Logs, 1982


Box 1 Dances 1972 1972, 1972, 1972


Box 1 Dances 1973 (Jan-June ), 1973, 1973, 1973


Box 1 Dances 1973 (July -Dec), 1973, 1973, 1973


Box 1 Dance Jan-June 1974, 1974


Box 1 Dance -- July to December 1974 1974, December 1974, 1974


Box 1 Dance 1975 1975, 1975, 1975


Box 1 Dance -- 1981 1981, 1981, 1981


Box 1 Dance Committee, 1977


Box 1 Dances 1982-1983 1982-1984, 1982-1983, 1982-1984


Box 1 Dance Inventory, 1982


Box 1 Dance Expenses, 1983


Box 1 Misc. Dance Fliers, ca. 1980s


Box 1 Dance Questionnaire, 1986


Subseries IV.2: Education, 1968-1987

This subseries consists of materials pertaining to educational programming and research initiatives completed by Gay People at Columbia-Barnard (GPCB) and Columbia Gay and Lesbian Alliance (CGLA). The subseries is organized by educational event type, with folder contents organized chronologically. The first files consist of fliers, handouts, syllabi and readings for discussion groups organized by GPCB and CGLA, specifically consciousness raising groups in the 1970s and study groups in the 1980s. Some of the readings are annotated. Following the discussion group materials are memos, fliers, discussion plans, and reports for GPCB's "floor raps," in which GPCB members would lead an information session about homosexuality to residents of a dormitory floor. The memos consist of internal communications reflecting on the success of particular events as well as communications with residence staff. The following files consist of two 1973 and 1974 research initiatives, two separate blank surveys and subsequent reports about sexual experience and gay life at Columbia University. The series concludes with fliers for miscellaneous educational panels, including completed questionnaires for panels on "Coming Out" and "Gays in Business," as well as collected lecture notes, syllabi, and a proposed essay prize pertaining to gay studies at the university.


Box 1 Consciousness Raising, 1973-1974


Box 1 (GPC) Discussion Groups, 1975 October 5, 1975


Box 1 Study Group -- Fall '84, 1984


Box 1 Study Group, undated


Box 1 Study Group Reading and Syllabus, 1985


Box 1 Study Group, 1984-1986


Box 1 Study Group, ca. 1980s



Box 2 Study Group, 1985


Box 2 Study Group, 1984-1986


Box 2 Study Group, 1986-1987


Box 2 Floor Raps, 1972-1974


Box 2 Questionnaires -- Socio-psychological Surveys -- Greenberg, 1971


Box 2 1973 Survey on Sexual Experience and Homophobia at Columbia, 1973, 1973, 1973


Box 2 "A New Gay Survey,", 1974


Box 2 Misc. Educational Events, 1974-1981


Box 2 Misc. Educational Events, 1981-1985


Box 2 Lecture Notes, 1968


Box 2 Psychology Courses Columbia, Barnard, 1974-1975


Box 2 GPCB Essay Prize, 1975


Box 2 High School Education, 1973-1974


Box 2 Educational Committee, 1973-1974


Subseries IV.3: Social, 1970-1982

This subseries consists of materials pertaining to social activities organized by Gay People at Columbia-Barnard (GPCB) and Columbia Gay and Lesbian Alliance (CGLA), divided into three categories: the gay lounge, film screenings, and miscellaneous social activities. The subseries largely consists of internal memos, correspondence, clippings, and press statements pertaining to GPCB's nationally reported struggle to achieve official administrative recognition for the gay lounge, ca. 1971-1973. This collection of materials includes communications with university deans and trustees as well as minutes from a meeting of the Board of Trustees in which GPCB member Morty Manford asked the board for assistance in receiving administrative recognition. The subseries also includes correspondence and fliers related to film screenings either organized by or receiving support from GPCB, including a handout for a post-film discussion of Boys in the Band (1970), a drama about a group of gay friends in New York City controversial for its arguable reproduction of harmful stereotypes. Invited to participate in the screening by its organizers, GPCB planned a discussion that aimed to foster a more critical take on a film the group wouldn't have personally chosen to screen due to ideological reservations. The end of the subseries consists of promotional fliers for miscellaneous social events organized by the GPCB as well as a folder of undated photos labeled "Author's Night at Lounge."


Box 2 Lounge through 1971 1971, 1971, 1971


Box 2 Trustees, Columbia University -- Gay Lounge, 1971-1972


Box 2 Lounge, 1972


Box 2 Gay Lounge, 1973-1975


Box 2 Films, 1972-1982


Box 2 Social Committee Activities, 1975


Box 2 Photographs -- Author's Night at Lounge, 1970-1971


Subseries IV.4: Outreach, 1967-1989

This subseries documents Gay People at Columbia-Barnard (GPCB) and Columbia Gay and Lesbian Alliance (CGLA) community engagement activities. It consists of memos, schedules, and promotional fliers documenting GPCB's involvement in freshman orientation, including two informational leaflets written by the group, "On Coming Out" and "To the Parents," and proposed revisions to statements about sexual diversity in promotional materials. There are also publicity materials, including mailing lists for GPCB's newsletter and correspondence with advertisers and invoices from The Spectator, as well as membership lists.


Box 2 Informational Fliers about GPCB for Columbia-Barnard Students,, 1970-1982


Box 2 Freshman Orientation, 1972-1982


Box 2 To the Parents, undated


Box 2 On Coming Out, undated


Box 2 Hamilton Hall, 1971-1984


Box 2 Facets revisions, 1988-1989


Box 2 Open Letters to Instructors and Administrators, 1986-1989


Box 2 Mailing List, 1967-1971


Box 2 Mailing Lists, ca. 1973


Box 2 CGLA Mailing List, 1986-1989


Box 2 Directories, 1969-1985


Box 2 Media, undated


Box 2 Mailing Lists -- National, 1971-1974


Box 2 Owl, 1970-1971


Box 2 Spectator -- Invoices, 1971-1972


Box 2 Spectator Invoices, 1983


Box 2 Spectator Advertisements for spring of 1984 Frank Elsea, Publicity Dir., 1984, 1984, 1984


Box 2 University Record, 1973-1975


Box 2 Columbia University Calendar, 1975-1976


Box 2 Public Relations Press -- Publicity, 1973-1975


Box 2 Invitation of 15th Anniversary Reception, 1982


Box 2 Outreach, 1973


Box 2 Stationary -- Breakdown, undated


Box 2 Photographs, undated