A Queer Past: The Emergence of LGBT+ Student Organizations in Middle Tennessee

Abstract

In 1979, Middle Tennessee saw the formation of the Student Coalition for Gay Rights (SCGR) at Austin Peay State University (APSU). The Student Coalition for Gay Rights became the first LGBT+ student organization to receive official recognition at a public institution in Tennessee. Almost ten years later, MT Lambda emerged at Middle Tennessee State University. In my thesis, I look at the history of both organizations and examine the processes they went through to enact change on their campuses. I rely on student newspapers, university documents, and legal records to better understand how these two organizations formed, the arguments used to invalidate their existence, and the ways the SCGR and MT Lambda pushed back. Both organizations were fighting for visibility within their own communities, much like LGBT+ student organizations across the United States.