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Special Collections and University Archives UMass Amherst Libraries Stonewall Center Records 1962-2005 22 boxes (33 linear feet) Call no.: RG 030/2/6 About SCUA SCUA home Credo digital Scope Overview Series 1. Administration Series 2. Education Series 3. News media Series 4: Research Series 5: Outreach Inventory Series 1. Administration Series 2. Education Series 3. News media Series 4: Research Series 5: Outreach Admin info Download xml version print version (pdf) Read collection overview Following a series of homophobic incidents on the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1985, the Program for Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Concerns was established as an administrative center in the Office of Student Affairs. Later renamed after the notorious riots in New York, the Stonewall Center has provided the campus and surrounding community with cultural and educational programming through speakers, films, video and book library, Speakers Bureau on LGBTQ issues, referrals and support, advocacy and community outreach. The records of the Stonewall Center include documentation of day to day operations, including phone logs, memos, and budget information, as well as posters and press releases for events, publications, campus and external reports, training manuals, surveys, newspaper clippings, and ephemera such as banners, tee-shirts, and buttons. See similar SCUA collections: LGBT UMass (1947- ) UMass faculty UMass staff UMass students Background on Stonewall Center Founded by Felice Yeskel in 1985 to offer support for gay and lesbian students at UMass Amherst, the Stonewall Center was only the third organization of its kind in an American university. In response to a series of homophobic incidents on campus, Yeskel organized the Program for Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Concerns within the university's Office of Student Affairs, renaming it the Stonewall Center: A Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay and Transgender Educational Resource Center in 1995. There are now over 150 similar centers at U.S. and Canadian universities. The Stonewall Center offers a variety of services to the UMass and Five College community: educational programming, LGBTQ ally training, a Speakers Bureau, an extensive library, advocacy for LGBTQ students, and a forum for events and visiting speakers. Throughout its first three decades, the Center maintained a broad library of material for LGBTQ students, ranging from health pamphlets to novels and academic journals. Stonewall staff offered courses in a range of subjects as well, and they conducted several research projects to better understand the needs of the UMass community, primarily through a series of surveys and questionnaires. Many of these surveys centered on residential life, with the aim of providing Resident Advisors in the dormitories with tools and guidance to solve disputes. The Stonewall Center has also served as a social center for the UMass campus and Five College community, hosting a wide range of events. The Center has invited many dozens of speakers to campus since the 1980s, ranging from comedians to poets to academics, attracting a wide audience. As a prominent presence on the University of Massachusetts campus for three decades, the Center continues to pursue its mission of community outreach, education, and support for gay and straight students. Scope of collection Beginning in its earliest days, the Stonewall Center kept detailed records of its daily operations, maintaining careful logs of both its mundane activities (phone logs, visitor sign-in books, and memos) and its innovative efforts in outreach and education. From the minutes of meetings, to fliers, posters, and banners publicizing its events, financial records, and even stickers and t-shirts, these records provide a rich perspective on the experience of LGBTQ students at the university and the system built to support them. It is clear that the people running the Stonewall Center placed a great value on community participation and feedback. Yeskel, the Center's founder, dedicated 20 years to making it a safe place for students at a time when anti-gay incidents were common. Other people working at the Center understood that the sensitivities and personal nature of the issues they handled. Given their critical role in offering resources and much-needed support, the Center emphasized the importance of outreach, both within the university and to the greater Pioneer Valley community, and they relied on research to assess the atmosphere of the UMass campus and to gather feedback on their many programs. Series descriptions Series 1. Administration 1983-2002 5 boxes Records pertaining to the Stonewall Center's logistical operations, including alumni contact information, as well as outreach forms to former members of the Stonewall Center. Most of the correspondence in this series is between the Center and the UMass administration. There are also employment records of the people who worked at the Stonewall Center. This series also contains all of the financial records from the club, as well as grant proposals and applications. The last major piece of this series is the Speakers Bureau information, which consists of application forms, request forms, and other related materials. Series 2. Education 1962-2003 2 boxes Education, spans all of the educational and academic material in the collection. It contains guides and publications by the Stonewall Center and members of the UMass community. There are many informational health pieces, specifically regarding the dangers of AIDS. The series also contains course materials for the classes offered by the Stonewall Center, including homophobia workshops, GLBs in society, and nonprofit management training classes. Series 3. News media 1978-2004 3 boxes News Media, consists mainly of articles, newspapers, and magazines that the Stonewall Center received from the mid-1980s until around 2000. A large portion of the articles from this series is devoted to AIDS articles in prominent newspapers such as The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Time magazine. The articles collected in this series span a multitude of different topics, ranging from Reform Judaism to UMass alumni to student's rights. Series 4: Research 1975-2001 3 boxes This series consists of materials and events that the Stonewall Center used to communicate its message and reach the UMass campus on a larger scale. "Events" is the largest sub-series of Outreach, and it has a folder for each speaker that the Stonewall Center to give a talk, as well as events that the Stonewall Center put on for the campus. It also contains flyers and press releases that were most likely posted in the Stonewall Center and around campus to advertise the events. Series 5: Outreach 1978-2005 The final series, Outreach, consists of materials and events that the Stonewall Center used to communicate its message and reach the UMass campus on a larger scale. "Events" is the largest sub-series of Outreach, and it has a folder for each speaker that the Stonewall Center to give a talk, as well as events that the Stonewall Center put on for the campus. It also contains flyers and press releases that were most likely posted in the Stonewall Center and around campus to advertise the events. This series also contains some oversized material including banners and posters. Two Boxes also contain media that was housed in center for visitor's use such as VHSs of events, cassettes and travel books. Inventory Series 1. Administration 1983-2002 5 boxes ACLU 1998 Box 1: 1 Ad Hoc Funding Request: SAGA undated Box 1: 2 Advisory Group Meeting 1985 Box 1: 3 Ahimsa Timoteo 2001 Box 1: 4 AIDS quilt undated Box 1: 5 Alumni: Alumni Association Annual Report 1998-1999 Box 1: 6 Alumni: Correspondence 1999 Box 1: 7 Alumni: Correspondence, GLBT Alumni Association 1995 Box 1: 8 Alumni: GALA Membership 1989-1995 Box 1: 9 Alumni: Information Forms 1995 Box 1: 10 Alumni: Mailing Correction Forms 1995 Box 1: 11 Alumni: Outreach 1995 Box 1: 12 Alumni: Records 1999 Box 1: 13 Americans united for separation of church and state 1998 Box 1: 14 Boycott of Colorado products 1993 Box 1: 15 Calendar 1998-2000 Box 19: 1 Chief of Police Letter 1985 Box 1: 16 Curriculum Vitae, Jennifer Terry undated Box 1: 17 Common Wealth Printing Co. 1992 Box 1: 18 Contacts 1993 Box 1: 19 Correspondence: Brian Oats 1992 Box 1: 20 Correspondence: 'Consequences of Being Gay' 1986 Box 1: 21 Correspondence: Dean of Students 1990-1992 Box 1: 22 Correspondence: Housing Service Cable Network 1996 Box 1: 23 Correspondence: Lori Feldman 1999 Box 1: 24 Correspondence: Other GLBT Programs 1986-1993 Box 1: 25 Correspondence: Philosophy Department 1993 Box 1: 26 Correspondence: Potential Performers 1995-1996 Box 1: 27 Counseling Collective RSO 1985 Box 1: 28 Departmental Purchase Request Form 1997-1998 Box 1: 29 Directions and Maps to Stonewall 1999 Box 1: 30 Disability Claims 1996 Box 1: 31 Event Logistics 1996-1997 Box 1: 32 Employment: Appointment and Salary Forms 1992-1993 Box 1: 33 Employment: Call Sheet 1995 Box 1: 34 Employment: Counseling Collective Internship 1989-1996 Box 1: 35 Employment: Cover Letters 1985 Box 1: 36 Employment: Employment Changes 1998 Box 1: 37 Employment: Graduate Fellowship and Assistantship 1989-1994 Box 1: 38 Employment: Graduate Student Internship 1991 Box 1: 39 Employment: Job Applications 1991-1993 Box 1: 40 Employment: Job Applications 1995-1998 Box 1: 41 Employment: Job Descriptions undated Box 1: 42 Employment: Letters of Recommendation 1997-1998 Box 1: 43 Employment: Mount Holyoke Interns 1999-2000 Box 1:

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