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Records of the Pride Center
UA0081
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Table of contents
Title: Records of the Pride Center
Dates: 1972 - 2018
Collection Number: UA0081
Creator/Collector:
Robert E. Kennedy
Everett M. Chandler
GLSU
Gay Student Union
Pride Center
Associated Students Inc. (ASI)
Extent: 3 linear feet, 6 boxes
Online items available
Repository:
California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo. University Archives
San Luis Obispo, California 93407
Abstract: Documents related to the development and activities of the Pride Center and the former Gay Student Union.
Language of Material: English
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please visit our Reference Services page online at http://lib.calpoly.edu/search-and-find/collections-and-archives/reference-services/.
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[Identification of item]. Records of the Pride Center. Collection Number: UA0081. California Polytechnic State University
- San Luis Obispo. University Archives
Transfer
Biography/Administrative History
Historical Note:
Although there was an LGBTQIA presence on campus at an earlier date, 1972 is the first recorded effort to develop a formal
presence on campus. In 1972 students began the process of applying for a Gay Student Union (GSU), creating a formal association
with the original bylaws dated in the fall of 1974. Facing resistance from campus administration and other campus constituents,
as well as from the public, following a five year court battle that involved the state Attorney General, the GSU was granted
official recognition as a student organization by the University and by the Associated Students, Inc. in 1976.
The Gay Student Union was a membership organization developed to provide a forum for the study of “homosexuality on campus
and community level”. The organization provided a forum for discussion and intellectual development for the gay community
and the campus as a whole. Despite initial resistance to the organization, many community members and organizations on and
off campus were in support of the GSU including local churches and CSU students, professors, and staff.
Records in this collection wee collected by the staff and students of the Cal Poly Pride Center and transferred to the archives
in 2018.
Scope and Content of Collection
Documents related to the development and activities of the former Gay Student Union and the present-day Pride Center. Includes
bylaws, minutes, surveys, event announcements, and correspondence in opposition to the formation of the GSU from campus administration
and ASI (Associated Students, Inc.) as well as other campus constituents. Includes photocopies of newspaper clippings from
campus and community papers documenting the LGBTQIA experience on campus, later documentation of authorization of the GSU,
and a letter of support from President Bill Clinton.
Includes documentation of GSU members work to oppose legislation denying rights on the basis of sexual orientation and the
Gay Campus Community Hotline; campus flyers for events such as National Coming Out Day, human rights, and LGBTQIA and gay
rights activism.
LGBTQIA
PRIDE
GALA
Associated Students Inc. ASI
Gay and Lesbian Alliance
San Luis Obispo
Correspondence
Promotional flyers