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| contact-name = Gabrielle Joffe (gmj1) and Mike Semensi (ms2)

The '''The Queer Student Union''' is a group of students who share a common interest in cultivating, nurturing, and enriching the queer experience at Williams College. We are advocates for queer perspectives and we work to ensure that the presence and voices of queer students are recognized and respected by college administration, student body at -large, and larger WilliamsCollege community. Through our active presence and involvement on campus, the QSU hopes to confront homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and heterosexism while seeking to understand and address how these interlink with sexism, racism, and classism to perpetuate oppression. With these goals in mind the Queer Student Union endeavors to serve a wide variety of functions socially, intellectually, and politically: ''Socially'', we organize to create common bonds through conversations, social events, and explorations of queer cultures.

With these goals in mind the Queer Student Union endeavours to ''Intellectually'', we serve as a wide variety source of functions sociallyinformation and provide a safe medium for academic discourse, intellectuallypersonal reflection, and politically: artistic (re)presentation of queerness and our other intersecting identities.

'''Socially,'Politically'' we organize to create common bonds through conversations, social events, and explorations of queer cultures. '''Intellectually,''' we serve as a source of information and provide and safe medium for academic discourse, personal reflection, and artistic (re)presentation of queerness and our other intersecting identities. '''Politically,''' as activists, we work to transform our campus and greater community while recognizing that our goals require a continued process of understanding and addressing all forms of oppression. Gender , acknowledging gender and sexuality are mobilized in different ways along with race, ethnicity, class, age, and ability in order to privilege some bodies, voices, and actions over others, effectively speaking and acting for others before they do so for themselves.

We work collaboratively with other organizations and institutions, both on and off the Williams College campus, to create safe as well as transformative spaces at Williams for our LGBTQQAAI peers and to serve as a resource for all members of our community who wish to question thoughtfully the ways in which genders and sexualities affect and inform our lives and society.

== Other LGBTQIAA LGBTQQIAA Student Resources ==

'''October 28??, 1971:''' Daniel R. Pinello�s Pinell's article �The "The homosexual at Williams: coming out�out", where Dan came out as a gay male at Williams, was on the cover of The Williams Advocate. Also in this edition of the Advocate was an article �Gay "Gay Liberation: a profile�profile".

'''April 9??, 1976:''' The first organization on campus is created, WGSO, the Williams Gay Support Organization. WGSO�s WGSO's call for new members in the Williams Record sparks heated debate and controversy, creating a flurry of articles in support and denouncing the new organization.

'''April 16??, 1976:''' Student stands on chair in Mission Park dining hall, actively denouncing the WGSO and the �Gay Support� "Gay Support" platform.

'''March 10??, 1978:''' First panel by gay activists on �Coming "Coming Out.�"

'''October 3??, 1978:''' WGSO becomes GPU, the Gay People�s People's Union, in order to create a broader presence on campus.

'''March 17??, 1981:''' �Coming Out� "Coming Out" meeting held at Weston Language Center.

'''October 4??, 1983:''' Gaudino Forum on �Gay "Gay at the Movies, Gay at Williams.�"

'''October 5??, 1983:''' The GPU establishes a new name, the GLU � - Gay/Lesbian Union in order to avoid being stigmatized as an all-male organization. A new gay hotline is instated for students to talk about their sexuality.

'''April 23??, 1985:''' Controversy erupts over a student�s student's statement that the Berkshire Quad is a ghetto of the College�s �misfits College's "misfits and homosexuals.� " As a result, a crowd of over 300 students, faculty, staff, and administrators rallied in a celebration of diversity. However, issues over student housing, marginalization, and diversity persist and disputes between the student and the [[Black Student Union]], GLU, and Berkshire Quad members continue.

'''February 24??, 1987:''' Students protest CIA�s CIA's discrimination in hiring as it recruits on campus. CIA responds in Record Article, citing that the CIA does not discriminate against any group, but that �it "it examines the whole person.�"

'''April 19??, 1988:''' First Gay awareness week. In the words of a BGLU student leader, �We "We wanted to challenge the campus to examine their homophobia. A week makes more of a coninuous confrontation, while a day is easily dismissed.� " Events include a rally, men wearing skirts to class, and stickers proclaiming �Why "Why Assume I�m I'm Heterosexual?�"

'''April 5??�9-9??, 1989:''' College Council sponsors the very first sexual awareness week to deal with issues of pregnancies, date rapes, and especially STDs.

'''November, 1991:''' BGLU chalks at homecoming, and distributes promotional pamphlets and stickers. This sparks a letter from a concerned parent MD denouncing the BGLU�s BGLU's presence, and considering the BGLU�s BGLU's organization one with possible chemical/ anatomical pathology.

'''October 5??�11,11??, 1992:''' BGLU celebrates National Coming Out Week with both confidential and public events.

'''April 11??�18,18??, 1993:''' Queer Pride Week. Queer Bash, March on Washington, and other events. '''October 7??, 1994:''' The Queer Straight Alliance is created "to fill the void between queers and straights at Williams and the greater community." (The BGLU is still in existence)

'''October 7??, 1994:''' The Queer Straight Alliance A homophobic and physically threatening letter is created �to fill submitted to the void between queers and straights at Williams Daily Advisor. The Dean's office notifies and denounces the incident in a letter to the greater William's community.� (The BGLU is still in existence)

'''October, 1994Spring 1999:''' A homophobic Bert Leatherman (openly gay and physically threatening letter is submitted to the Daily Advisor. The Dean�s office notifies and denounces the incident also a Bible study leader in a letter to the William�s communityWilliams Christian Fellowship) is elected College Council co-president.

'''May, 2009:''' Daniel R. Pinello is awarded the first �Outstanding "Outstanding Queer Alum Award� Award" at the 5th Annual Rainbow Graduation.

'''Spring 2010''' Organized the 1st annual New England Small College Queer Summit  '''April 2010:''' Bert Leatherman ’00 named Outstanding Queer Alum '''August 2010:''' GSRC moves into Jenness House. '''August 2010:''' Gender inclusive housing begins for sophomores – seniors. '''November 2010:''' Dan Savage speaks in Chapin Hall. '''September 2010:''' Justin Adkins named Assistant Director of the Multicultural center, with a focus on gender, sexuality and activism (a full-time position). '''April 2011:''' Dr. Lisa Capaldini ’78 named Outstanding Queer Alum '''April 2012:''' John Malcolm ’86 named Outstanding Queer Alum '''April 2012:''' Performance artist Jiz Lee speaks at Williams as part of the Dively Committee 25 anniversary and draws controversy. '''April 2012:''' Dively Committee 25th anniversary celebration '''April 2013:''' Carina Vance Mafla ’99 named Outstanding Queer Alum