Scarlet and Black, “Religious Beliefs vs. Hate Speech”
Erik Gable, 2000
This newspaper article covers the debate over the reinstatement of Grinnell College Christian Fellowship (GCCF), and clears up rumors about the suspension of its predecessor, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, after one of its leaders was asked to step down due to her assertion that being homosexual was not a sin in October of 1995. The college ruled later that year that in doing so, InterVarsity had violated the College’s non-discrimination policy. The more recent debate raised concerns that if GCCF were to reaffiliate with InterVarsity International, it would again lead to violations of the discrimination policy and contribute to homophobia on campus.
“This Bathroom Has Been Liberated From the Gender Binary” Poster
Unknown, Undated
This sign stems from a long-running student-led movement to get gender-neutral bathrooms in all academic buildings, reading “this bathroom has been liberated from the gender binary.” The initiative started sometime before 2010, with records showing a student initiative passing by 76.18% to convert a number of bathrooms across campus to be gender-neutral. Over time, all single-user restrooms on campus were converted to be gender-neutral, and the JRC was renovated to include single-user gender-neutral bathrooms. Today, only one academic building, the Noyce Science Center, remains entirely without gender-neutral bathrooms despite a decade and a half-long campaign by students and staff to provide them, stymied by an outdated plumbing code and the expense of completely renovating bathrooms. There are currently plans by the College administration to begin renovations to add gender-neutral bathrooms to Noyce in 2026.
LMNOP Poster
Unknown, Undated
Lesbian Movie Night and Organized Procrastination (LMNOP) was a student organization during the 2000s that, as the name suggests, organized movie nights and other fun events. It was an affinity group, but events were open to everyone on campus, aiming to provide a break from work for a bit of organized procrastination.
Coming Out Group Poster
Unknown, Undated
The Coming Out Group was founded in 1991 as a dedicated space for students who had recently come out as “gays, lesbians, and bisexuals.” The group continued to be active intermittently until the 2010s, when it seems to have gone defunct. The founders of the group knew that members were often inherently time-limited, as they would eventually become more comfortable and move on to other groups. The group’s last mention is in 2012 as a 1-n-1 mentorship program to counsel students who had recently come out as LGBTQ+.
SCIPE Gay Marriage Debate Rosenfield Program Poster
Unknown, 2004
The SCIPE Gay Marriage Debate program was sponsored by the Rosenfield Program. The event was proposed by the Student Campaign for Increased Political Engagement (SCIPE), a multi-partisan student group dedicated to facilitating political discourse. It was composed of a panel discussion that would provide background information on the issue of a constitutional amendment regarding marriage equality, and a moderated debate between one speaker who was for a constitutional amendment and one who was against it.
The prompt given to the debaters was “Debate: The U.S Constitution should be amended to define marriage as exclusively between one man and one woman.” This prompt frames the debate not in positive terms for marriage equality, but rather in negative ones that lean towards maintaining the status quo. The audience was noted to have drawn students, faculty, and community members, and reactions were “lively and divided.”
Resource Guides
Unknown, Undated (Circa 2006-2009)
These resource guides list the existing student organizations in the Stonewall Resource Center at the time, ranging from a wide array of topics and representing a number of different identity groups on campus.