Pressure from All Sides: A Comparative History of the Issues and Policies Related to the Gay and Lesbian Student Populations of The Ohio State University and The University of Michigan, 1971 to 1994

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2006-06

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The Ohio State University

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Abstract

The Ohio State University and The University of Michigan are two of the most prominent and world-renowned public universities in the United States, attracting scholars from all over the globe to their campuses. These universities are places where new ideas and groundbreaking research are created every day. However, as state-funded institutions they not only function to create knowledge, but also to serve a variety of stakeholders, including taxpayers, local community members, government officials, faculty, staff, alumni, and students. As a result, the universities endeavor to safeguard the principle of equality within their respective communities. Historically, gay and lesbian students have presented Ohio State and Michigan with a unique set of demands and challenges. There has been a significant shift in the way that these universities have dealt with this particular group over the last three and a half decades. In my thesis, I examine how and why Ohio State and Michigan have responded to gay and lesbian student demands and concerns, looking specifically at the schools’ nondiscrimination policies and gay and lesbian student services offices. The universities have similar policies and offices in place today, but the processes through which these developments came into being were very different. In 1971, Michigan opened the doors of its gay and lesbian student services office, the first center of its kind at any college or university in the United States. Despite this groundbreaking step, Michigan did not add “sexual orientation” to its nondiscrimination policy in a formal way until the mid 1990s. By contrast, Ohio State added “sexual orientation” to its nondiscrimination policy in 1979, but its gay and lesbian students would be without a designated services office until 1990. Why did these events happen at such different times at these two schools? How did the pressures that influenced the universities’ decisions differ? How do the resulting offices and policies compare to one another? Furthermore, as these developments were debated and ultimately implemented, did the stakeholders at the two universities’ react differently? Was there any political or financial backlash? During my investigation of these questions, I have performed research on primary sources at the archives of both universities. These have included official university documents, memoranda, press releases, personal letters, and newspapers. Furthermore, I have conducted interviews and consulted secondary literature on the broader topic of gay and lesbian rights. My narrative will examine how different social pressures affected a specific set of policy decisions that have been made at these two universities over the last thirty or so years. The present situation at these universities is the result of long and unique processes that have culminated in similar yet distinct ends, and this thesis attempts to document those developments and examine them comparatively and critically.

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Ohio State University, University of Michigan, Homosexuality, Homosexuality and education -- United States, Ohio State University -- History, University of Michigan -- History, Universities and colleges -- Social aspects -- United States, Homosexuality -- History

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