Spectrum is a positive transgender, bisexual, gay, lesbian, transsexual, and ally collegiate community organization with the purpose of providing support, engendering community, and promoting activism at Earlham College as well as in Richmond, Indiana. Everyone is welcome to participate in Spectrum meetings and activities, and if you have special needs, contact the convenors and we will make accomadations.

This Year | Alumni | Teetor House Library | Spectrum in the News | History

This just in...

2001-2002

We officially (and finally) changed our name to Spectrum. Spectrum is representative of the rainbow, a symbol for queer pride. A "spectrum" signifies a gamut of gender, sexuality, and race that are all aspects of our ideal group. For more info, see the Word article.

There was a lot of activity in 2001-2002. The second year of having Teetor House as our Cultural Center has given us a great base for our activities. We brought Staceyann Chin to campus for a phenomenal poetry performance and six of our very own went to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Creating Change Conference in Milwaukee. The Gender Indentities Group (GIG) has been meeting bi-weekly, and the Coming Out Support group meets periodically. In meetings we have shared our stories, our talents (*barefoot tap dancing included*), and our passions. We have begun planning to make this Pride Month the best yet.

Click for Current Events.

2000-2001 was great! We sucessfully launched the first year of Teetor House, Earlham's own Living-Learning GLBTQ Cultural Center. Our activities have included the house events like Potlucks, Movies, and the Coming Out Support Group. We organized a campus-wide campaign for National AIDS Awareness Day, and a campaign against the silencing of GLBT people on this campus (arising out of the now infamous tearing down of Teetor House signs.) We took fields trips to Celebrity in Dayton and to some very queer bowling. A group attended the MidWest GLBT Great Lakes College Association Conference. Pride Month was fully swinging.

ALUMNI!

We are looking to establish a list of alumni who were active in the GLBT community at Earlham during their time here, or who have come out since graduating. It is so important that we support each other in the community, and former students hold the key to writing our own history. Please take a minute to complete this form and let us know what you are up to, or even share some of your experiences from your time at Earlham. Click for the form

Teetor House Library Teetor House was given a grant to establish a library. The library contains books on GLBTQ themes including health, literature, support books, and resources. We are in the process of purchasing books, and if you would like to suggest a book, click here. A list of books currently in the library will soon be avaible online. We are also accepting donations which can be dropped off at Teetor House on College Avenue or mailed to: Teetor House Library c/o Kevin Morrison Earlham College Drawer 202 Richmond, IN 47374 In the library are also the Campus Activities and Organizing Resource Guide and the Harrassment Log. Please feel free to come by and browse the Library!

Spectrum/Rainbow Tribe in the News! The spring Semester was amazingly active, and tthe campus is taking notice. Below are a list of some of the articles in the Word that relate to us! Letter to the editor 4/27/01 Transgender photographer speaks to Earlham students 4/13/01 EC celebrates pride month 4/6/01 Rainbow Tribe seeks to promote awareness and diversity 4/6/01 Earlham receives sensitivity training for GLBTQ safe zone 3/30/01 Time to put money where mouth is, or not 3/16/01 Let's get accurate with language here 3/16/01 Progressive work does not mean staying silent 3/16/01 EC needs to challenge limiting gender norms 3/16/01 Reaction to silencing has been proactive 3/9/01 GLBTQ community gathers support on campus 3/2/01 The silencing of the signs at Earlham by Doug Bennet 2/16/01 Diversity:Moving Beyond Mouthing Words 2/16/01 Queer Cultural Center signs torn down across campus 2/9/01 12th annual World AIDS Day observed on campus today 12/1/00 In Your Neighborhood: Teetor House gets new theme 9/8/00 Non-discrimination policy now includes sexual orientation 10/27/00

History Spectrum began in the early 70s under the name of the Gay People's Union, a support group for gay men. At the end of the decade, lesbians joined the group, and in 1987, bisexuals were included to create the Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay People's Union. In 1996 the group decided to change the name to Rainbow Tribe, a name which incorporates the meaning behind the Pride Flag and the close-knit community of a tribal society. For a more comprehensive history of Queer history at Earlham, click here. This is an essay written by Jackie Gerth('00). She comments that an even more comprehensive history is available in the archives, including a paper written by Dave Lorand et al. a few years ago, and various articles from the Earlham Post/Word.

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