A Guide to the VCU Gay Alliance of Students Collection, 1974-1976 M 357 A Collection in Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, M 357

A Guide to the VCU Gay Alliance of Students Collection, 1974-1976 M 357

A Collection in Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, M 357

VCU James Branch Cabell Library

Special Collections and Archives 901 Park Avenue
Richmond, Virginia 23284
Business Number: (804) 828-1108
libjbcsca@vcu.edu
URL: https://www.library.vcu.edu/research-teaching/special-collections-and-archives/locations/#cabell

Repository

VCU James Branch Cabell Library

Identification

M 357

Title

VCU Gay Alliance of Students collection 1974-1976

Quantity

0.5 Linear Feet

Creator

Gay Alliance of Students

Language

English .

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection open for research.

Preferred Citation

VCU Gay Alliance of Students Collection, Collection Number M 357, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Walter Foery.

The Gay Alliance of Students (GAS) was founded as a student organization on September 1, 1974, at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond Virginia. GAS was organized to create a "unified support community for men and women of all sexual orientations, serve as an informative resource to the university and surrounding community, and assist the university in creating a positive institutional image by addressing and combating discrimination based on gender and sexual preference."

GAS was denied recognition as a student organization by the VCU Board of Visitors on October 17, 1974 on the grounds that the "existence of GAS as a recognized campus organization would tend to attract other homosexuals to the University." In October 1976, a civil case was brought to the U.S. District Court of Appeals Fourth District Circuit Court against VCU to allow for full funding and space allocations. The Federal Appeals Court ruled in favor of the student organization effectively changed existing law in ten southern states.

By the 1980s, the Gay Alliance of Students was known as the VCU Gay Student Alliance. As of 2010, there were two gay student organizations at VCU-the Sexual Minority Student Alliance and Queer Action.

Scope and Contents

The collection was compiled by the donor, Walter Foery, a founding member of the VCU Gay Students Alliance organization. The materials in the collection help document the founding of the student organization at VCU, their efforts to be recognized by VCU as any other student organization, and the lawsuit initiated by the students. The items date from 1974 through 1976 and include correspondence, court documents, newspaper clippings, and magazines.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged alphabetically.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Gay Alliance of Students
Gay activists -- Archives. -- Virginia -- Richmond
Gay college students -- Archives -- Virginia -- Richmond
Gay rights -- Virginia -- Richmond.
Virginia Commonwealth University -- students

Container List

Mixed Materials box: 1

Application for Registration as A Student Organization, Gay Alliance of Students, Initial and Final Copy, 1974

Mixed Materials box: 1

Conference Schedule-The Gay Academic Union, Third Annual Conference, 1975

Mixed Materials box: 1

Correspondence - The Advocate , Gregory Lewis, Editor, September 9, 1975, November 17, 1975

Mixed Materials box: 1

Correspondence - Blanton, Wyndham, Member of the VCU Board of Visitors, Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Medical College of Virginia, November 20, 1975

Mixed Materials box: 1

Correspondence - Byrd, Harry F., U.S. Senator - August 5, 1975

Mixed Materials box: 1

Correspondence - Foery, Walter A., Spokesperson Gay Alliance of Students, November 2, 1975

Mixed Materials box: 1

Correspondence - Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund Inc., 1975-1976

Mixed Materials box: 1

Correspondence - Lane, Lionel E., VCU School of Social Work, March 6, 1976

Mixed Materials box: 1

Correspondence - McCarthy, John M., Attorney at Law, April 8, 1976

Mixed Materials box: 1

Correspondence - National Gay Task Force, 1975-1976

Mixed Materials box: 1

Correspondence - Reynolds, Eddie, Director of Residence Education at Virginia Commonwealth University, November 19, 1976

Mixed Materials box: 1

Correspondence - Scott, William L., U. S. Senator - August 6, 1975

Mixed Materials box: 1

Correspondence - Tully, Carol, Social Worker, City of Richmond Department of Public Welfare, Social Service Bureau, July 2, 1976

Mixed Materials box: 1

Court Fee Payment Record, Gay Alliance of Students, 1975-76

Mixed Materials box: 1

Court Opinion, U.S. Court of Appeals Fourth District; Gay Alliance of Students, etc v. Alfred T. Matthews, et al, 1976

Mixed Materials box: 1

Magazine Clippings, Time , 1975, 1979

Mixed Materials box: 1

Memorandum, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia Richmond Division, Gay Alliance of Students etc, v., Alfred T. Matthews, et al, 1975

Mixed Materials box: 1

Newspaper Clippings, Gay Alliance of Students (GAS), Commonwealth Times and Flyer for GAS Sponsored Dance Event, 1976

Mixed Materials box: 1

Newspaper Clippings, Gay Alliance of Students, Commonwealth Times and Richmond Times-Dispatch , 1975

Mixed Materials box: 1

Photography of Walter Foery, undated

Mixed Materials box: 1

Press Releases, Gay Alliance of Students, undated

Mixed Materials box: 1

Statement of Purpose, Draft and Final Copy, Gay Alliance of Students (GAS) and GAS Membership List, undated

Mixed Materials box: 1

Subpoena for Taking Deposition, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia Richmond Division, June 10, 1975

Mixed Materials box: 1

Subpoena to Appear and Produce, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia Richmond Division, June 10, 1975