Colorado College

The Gay Liberation Front and Colorado College

In 1972, more gay men from Colorado College started to get involved. Meetings were becoming more and more crowded, with people having to cram into the apartments they'd been meeting in. ^[4:1]

Ricardo Cruz, the head of MEChA, the Chicano student group at Colorado College, started attending GLF meetings, and had the idea to start a chapter of the group on campus. Upon discussion, Ricardo and the original founders determined it didn't make sense to have two separate groups, and that they should just merge groups instead. Cruz, using his knowledge of the college's chartering process. This would have been an asset to the group, as it would have allowed them to get funding and access to larger meeting spaces. ^[4:2] Dr. Douglas Freed, CC Psychology Professor, became the GLF's faculty advisor, and would speak to the group about homosexuality through the lens of psychiatry and psychology.

The student government granted the charter on December 14, 1971 at a Colorado College Campus Association Meeting. However, this decision was then vetoed by Colorado College President Lloyd Worner, who said that he was acting out of concern for the student body, and stated "...the preservation of individual rights does not extend to the sanctioning of aberrant activities, which in addition to being of dubious legality, represent a thread to the institution's continued existence, as a congenial place for learning."^[6]

The GLF started to meet on CC's campus starting January 3, 1972, in the Rastall Center (Which would go on to become the Worner Center, named in honor of the aforementioned president), Room 205. However, due to "harassment from the Colorado College Administration", the group moved their meetings to the carriage house at 1548 Mesa Ave.

The front started to plan marches and sit-ins to protest Worner's decision. ^[4:3]

Colorado College's Same-Sex Lifestyles Symposium

The college decided to have a symposium on "Same-Sex Lifestyles" on December 11-13, 1972, to try and facilitate a dialogue and ease the growing tensions between the GLF, the student body, and the college's leadership. The college brought in Jack Baker from Minnesota, Barbara Giddings from Philadelphia, Mark Friedman, and Jerry Gerasch. ^[4:4]

The symposium was primarily attended by straight students at the college. Many of the panelists did not want to weigh in on the issue of the GLF's charter, except Jack Baker.

Jack Baker, a nationally known figure in the gay liberation movement, urged the Colorado College student body to put pressure on Worner in response to his decision. He suggested that students set up groups such as "Kill a Commie for Christ", disrupt President Worner's speeches to the Chamber of Commerce, and get the name of college administrators names in the press "and watch them squirm." ^[6:1]

By 1973, the group was still not chartered, but continued to meet regardless. Tyner stated he was ambivalent about getting the charter, but that it would mean that "the college stands up for the rights of minority students."^[7]

Worner's decision was unpopular with the student government. The American Civil Liberties Union became involved and threatened to sue the college. President Worner appointed a committee of faculty and students to determine a solution, and the committee ultimately recommended that the college end its discrimination against the gay rights movement.^[5:1]

However, the group never did go on to get chartered by the college.