Austin Peay’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance celebrates 40 years on campus

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – In February 1979, a group of Austin Peay State University students received a letter informing them that their club – the Student Coalition for Gay Rights – would not be recognized as an official student organization. In the letter, they were told, “The Student Coalition for Gay Rights has no place at Austin Peay State University.” Glenn Carter, APSU sociology professor and the club’s faculty adviser, encouraged the students to not accept this official decision.

They didn’t. That spring, the coalition successfully challenged the ruling in court, allowing the coalition to become an official student organization. Forty years after that landmark court case, the organization – now called the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) – is celebrating its four decades on campus with a special forum from 5:30-8 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 27, in room 232 of the APSU Woodward Library. 

The event will begin with light refreshments and then, at 6 p.m., Carter, now retired, will give a lecture on the Student Coalition for Gay Rights v. Austin Peay State University court case. Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts is also scheduled to make a special presentation.

At 6:45, Susan Larson will talk about her organization, Susan’s Place Transgendered Resources, and at 7:15, Amanda Leigh will discuss her 40-year career as a local drag queen. The evening will conclude with a student and faculty panel.

The celebration, which coincides with an exhibit on GSA history in the Woodward Library, is free and open to the public. For information, contact Gina Garber, professor of library sciences and GSA adviser, at garberg@apsu.edu.