A Bicentennial Gift from the IU GBLT Student Support Services Office

The Indiana University GLBT Student Support Services Office kindly donated their wonderful collection of scrapbooks to the Indiana University Archives as a “Bicentennial gift.” With the launching of the Bicentennial website and many Signature Projects, Doug Bauder, Director of the IU GLBT Student Support Services Office, thought it was the perfect time to donate these valuable pieces of history.

An early pamphlet from the office

The scrapbooks are the newest addition to the Indiana University Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Student Support Services Office records in the IU Archives. Starting in 1994, the year the office was created, these scrapbooks document the office and other GLBT events and issues in the larger community through pictures, memorabilia, and newspaper clippings.

In these scrapbooks, one can find photos of the many workers and volunteers who have served in the office, as well as photos of events the office has held across the years.

Flier from 10th Anniversary

Some of the stories documented in the scrapbooks include the controversy surrounding the creation of the office, the celebration of more equal marriage rights, and the Pride celebrations in Bloomington.

Photos from the early years of the office

The scrapbooks also contain multiple posters and other memorabilia from various events. Additionally, throughout the scrapbooks one can find the moving stories of GLBT students and their struggles for acceptance. Especially moving are the stories of GLBT youth whose families cut them off financially but found help through the GLBT Student Support Services Office emergency scholarship funds. One scrapbook contains letters of appreciation and articles about the 10^th anniversary of the office in 2004, while another scrapbook celebrates the 20^th anniversary of the office in 2014. This scrapbook contains heart-felt thank you notes expressing gratitude for the services the office offered. In this scrapbook and throughout the others the hard work and support of Doug Bauder, as well as others, is readily apparent. Through items such as articles, posters, photos, and thank you notes, these scrapbooks provide an overview of GLBT life in Bloomington and on campus over the past twenty-two years.

Thank you notes from 20th Anniversary