The group was hosted by the Office for LGBT Concerns in the Illini Union. By the 1990s, the group was called “Spectrum” and represented bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender concerns on campus. The group met significant opposition to its rallies and awareness days throughout the 70s and 80s. In 1977, the group’s office on campus washit by smoke bombs and the group’s funding for advertising and programming was cut drastically for 1980. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, members of the group wrote influential op-eds in the Daily Illini to encourage thoughtful discussion on campus.ĭespite the increasingly accepting climate of the campus community, however, the group was subject to discrimination from the community. The University’s first Gay-Lesbian Week was held in April 1977. Local churches offered services especially for gay men and women. 19 quotes have been tagged as gay-pride: Julie Anne Peters: ‘The best thing about coming out is, its totally liberating. Having visibility and real-life role models really matters. ![]() Even by summer 1976, in fact, the Gay Illini group noted a significant improvement in the response of Champaign police officers in stopping homophobic attacks. Like things such as sexism and homophobia, racism is an acquired taste. ![]() The visibility and work that Gay Illini did helped to shape a more inclusive campus and community. ![]() Gay Illini students marching in the Chicago Pride Parade, 1976
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