Miami University's Timeline Towards
Equality
The timeline below indicates significant events in the
history of Miami University where gays, lesbians,
bisexuals, and transgendered students, staff, and
faculty experienced some form of recognition by the
university, validating the presence of the GLBT
community at Miami. Hopefully the events listed here
will help the administration realize, accept. and allow
Miami's GLBT community to share equally in all aspects
of university life.
Many Thanks to: Paul Anderson and Roy Bowen Ward for
helping to supply important dates in this timeline.
Do you have an event in history that you want to see
listed in the Timeline Towards Equality? If so, send an
E-mail message to Dan Meyers, indicate the historical
event in detail, and attach a photo or if you happen to
have one documenting the event.
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THE TIMELINE TOWARDS EQUALITY
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Early 1970s: Gay People of Oxford was formed.
Janet Martin as the first President, This was an Oxford
community group that had numerous student participants.
At times Miami strucents ran the organization. They
were a close-knit open minded and informal queer
community, mostly from the theater department.
August 1979: The first attempt to
begin a gay and lesbian organization at Miami
University was called the "Advocates for Gay
Liberation." The Miami University Board of Trustees
denied a $64 funding request and the group dissolved
later in the academic year.
August 1984: The University Bulletin
and other official publications begin to include
statements that Miami does not discriminate on the
basis of sexual orientation and that Miami adheres to
Ohio Governor's Executive Order 83-64, which prohibits
discrimination in state employment based on sexual
orientation.
August 1984: The Gay and Lesbian
Alliance was started for the first time, but dissolved
within nine months.
September 1984: A second group called
the Gay/Lesbian Alliance tried to organize. The Student
Affairs Council approved this group unanimously. The
GLA sponsored two lectures, visited residence halls,
and held panels in Human Sexuality classes. However,
harassment and abuse proved debilitating, leading to
what one member described as "cynicism and defeatist
behaviour." The group dissolved by the end of the year.
September 1985: Chamelon, Miami's gay
and lesbian support group, is crates by Jim La Pata and
Chris Rebera. One had to call a "secret" number, ask
for a particular person, and then one was routed to the
correct contact.
October 1985: Linda Singer and Roy
Bowen Ward submit a cross-listed course in the Honors
Program dealing with gay and lesbian issues. Although
the student members of the Honors Committee voted
against it (reason: no student would want that course
on their transcript), the faculty outvoted them, and
the course was approved for the 1986-1987 academic
year.
August 1986: Linda Singer and
Roy Bowen Ward teach the first course directly and
explicitly about gay and lesbian issues on the Miami
campus. The course, entitled "Homosexual and Lesbian
Experience," is still taught every fall.
September 1986: The Gay and Lesbian
Alliance reorms on the Miami University campus and is
recognized as a student group on September 30, 1986.
Roy Bowen Ward, professor of Religion, affiliate in
Women's studies, and History, serves as the first
faculty advisor to the newly formed group. Jeff Young
served as the first president, Terri Lotz as
vice-president, Brenda Price as secretary, and Suzanne
Gray as treasurer.The group formed out of Chamelon. The
first president was Jeff Young, Vice-President was
Terri Lotz, Secretary was Brenda Price, Treasurer was
Sue Gray, and the Faculty Advisor was Roy Bowen Ward.
October 1986: The Miami Student runs a
full front page article with the headline "Gay alliance
organizes with new goals." The newsletter for Minority
Affairs Council focuses on homosexuality, the GLA, and
related issues. The Minority Affairs council also ased
Roy Ward to lecture on homophobia. The Miami Student
runs another article focusing on Ward's lecture in the
October 17th issue.
December 1986: Members of the Gay and
Lesbian Alliance received many anonymous and insulting
telephone calls and letters from both students and
faculy of Miami.The panels which went to educate the
student body in sociology and anthropology classes were
often exposed to insulting, rude, and embarrassing
comments and questions. However, by the end of the
year, the GLA had 40 members.
January 1987: The Gay and Lesbian
Alliance requests funding from the Board of Trustees in
the amount of $400. They received $230. When it was
time to approve the budget at the June Board of
Trustees meeting, one board member moved for the
removal of GLA funding, followed by a second motion
affirming the move. Ward was there as a representative
of the university senate and witnessed the
vice-president for student affairs stand up and remind
the two men that such an act was against the law,
refering to Govenor Celeste's executive order. The
motion failed.
June 1987: The Board of Trustees adds
"sexual preference" to the list of grounds for a
discrimination complaint (Section 3.7 of the Miami
University Policy and Information Manual).
Autumn 1987: 1st GLBA OFFICE.
GLBA was given an office in the basement of King
Library. This was ironic for several reasons. First,
there was always huge cruising going on in the basement
restrooms of King Library. Second, the first office was
a sub-office of the Miami University Office for
Students with Disabilities!!!! The GLBA was desperate
for office space, so we took it. This was after
previous denials for an office space. The office later
was moved to Shriver Center.
Autumn 1987: Miami Financial Report
reaches $1000 mark for MUGLBA.The GLBA felt this amount
was a milestone in continuing support from the Miami.
Student Finance Committee, that the committee
recognized Miami MUGLBA, and that an incredible number
of panels were sited as their reason for stronger
backing.
Autumn 1987: The first student
recognized by Miami as being HIV+; Miami tries to force
student to live in a single room for "health" reasons;
the student was bisexual and this fact was brought to
Miami students' attention at Safe Sex forum attended by
several hundred students, causing quite an uproar and
demands for identification of student (he had slept
with both male and female students on campus without
disclosure); Gay staff member with Miami Student
Counseling Center attempts to mediate situation between
all parties involved.
Autumn 1987: Students for Safe Sex was
temporarily formed in attempts to get condoms readily
available in residence halls; Condoms handed out at
Student Center; local and regional newspaper and TV
coverage.
April 1988: On April 6th, 1988 the
first "Jeans Day" was observed. This designated day is
when people who support gay/ lesbian/ bisexual/
transgendered issues wear jeans to show their support.
Students have criticized this as "sneaky," accusing
GLBA of tricking people into showing support when they
did not know what day it was.
April 1988: The "First Annual Sexual
Deviant's Ball" was held within a week of Jeans Day.
Since the two happened so closely together, "Awareness
Week" evolved and became host to a variety of panels,
speakers, and activities.
January 1989: The Gay and Lesbian
Alliance change their name to the GLBA
(Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Alliance). This is the first time
the bisexual students and faculty were officially
recognized on campus.
Spring 1989: GLBA sends out first
mailing to all Freshman students at beginning of school
year inviting them to get involved with GLBA. List
provided to GLBA by Miami (after approving letter).
After receiving more than 100 harassing phone calls
from flyer, Security office puts a tap on our phone.
Calls are identified back. Miami would not prosecute
callers since they cannot prove who actually made the
phone calls from student's room.
Spring 1989: Living in Thompson Hall,
the GLBA president and vice-president had various Miami
MUGLBA fliers on our door. This was the same year that
14 gay and bisexual men lived on the 2nd floor of
Thompson Hall. The straight men on the 2nd floor were
furious at the dominance of gay and bisexual men on the
floor. Situation escalated to where they set a door on
fire in residence hall. Students who committed act are
not thrown out by Miami, but have to write paper on
their acts.
Spring 1989: At graduation, a gay
student wore a huge pink triangle (Silence = Death) on
his cap. He was first stopped at ceremony by Miami
officials but then allowed to march with the pink
triangle on his cap. This was probably the first time
any gay symbol was worn at a graduation ceremony.
Spring 1989: Miami University changes
its wording in policies from sexual "preference" to
"orientation."
August 1990: GLA changes its name to
Miami University Gay Lesbian Bisexual Alliance
(MUGLBA). This is the first time bisexuality is fully
recognized for the group. MUGLBA moves its official
offices to Shriver Center, placing it in the Student
Activites Suite along with ASG, BSAA, AWS, CAC and
Greek Affairs.
June 1990: The Board of Trustees
adopts the University's "Policy Asserting Respect for
Human Diversity," which proclaims, among other
principles, Miami's commitment to establishing respect
for all individuals regardless of sexual orientation.
October 1991: The Domestic Partner
Benefits Task Force formed at the request of the
Faculty Welfare Committee. Original members were Paul
Anderson (Chair), Ann Fuehrer, and Bob Phillips. Others
who later worked on the Task Force has been Jim Creech
and Kate McCullough.
November 1992: The Domestic Partner
Benefits Task Force completes its report, recommending
that Miami provide the same benefits to employees with
domestic partners that it provides to employees who are
married.
February 1993: Miami's Human Relations
Commission endorses the principles of the Domestic
Partner Benefits Task Force.
August 1993: The dedication of the
Robert Phillips memorial garden and outdoor meeting
area behind Irvin Hall. Bob Phillips was an openly gay
faculty member who was an original member of the
Domestic Partner Benefits Task Force and chair of the
Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Speakers at the
dedication included President Paul Risser and also
Bob's partner.
October 1993: The Faculty Welfare
Committee endorses the Domestic Partner Benefits Task
Force report.
March 1994: The Lesbian
Avengers, another group that formed on campus, staged
the first "kiss-in," a public display of women kissing
women and men kissing men on campus.
April 1994: MUGLBA dace held at
Bachelor Hall Courtyard gets egged.
April 1994: University Senate passes a
resolution in support of domestic partner benefits.
May 1994: Chamelon folds because a few
hateful students who infiltrated the group and ruins
its confidentially.
September 1994: The University Faculty
Assembly concurs with the Senate resolution in support
of domestic partner benefits.
October 1994: University President
Paul Risser writes a letter to the Board of Trustees in
which he reports on the action by Senate and Faculty
Assembly but says he will not propose a change in
policy to the Board. Since this decision, the Domestic
Partner Benefits Task Force has met from time to time
with Miami Presidents and other University
administrators to discuss full or partial
implementation of partner benefits, but it has not had
been able to make any substantial progress.
September 1995: Anti-gay activities
escalate on campus. "Gerbil Fest" poster and "H82BGAY"
license plate campaigns become a new Miami tradition
with campus conservatives.
April 1995: the First Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual pub crawl happens updown during Awarenss Week.
September 1996: Monifa Porter and Lief
Mitchell form the 1809 Lambda, the Alumni
group.
October 1996: Upon their May 1996 graduation,
Monifa Porter and Leif Mitchell endeavored to build an
alumni organization for the Miami University gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) community.
Their efforts came to fruition by Homecoming Weekend
1996, which marked the first meeting of 1809 Lambda
Alumni.
December 1997: First year niami
students organize the first National Day of Silence on
campus.
January 1997: GLBA collaborates with a
wide-array of multicultural organizations to take over
Warfield Hall and place demands for diversity
initiatives and change on campus.
September 1998: The Miami University
phonebook publishes the names of faculty and their
partners. The phonebook also begins to cross-references
names by partner.
September 1998: An Ally/Safe Space
program and training bregins wil all resident
assistants and hall directors
February 1998: Miami hosts a Matthew
Shepherd Vigil and several participants of that vigil
were targeted and harrassed.
January 1999: Miami University allows
gay and lesbian faculty and staff to form a web page
and be listed under university organizations. A
listserv is also established to provide better
communication among Miami's GLBT community.
February 2000: The Miami Student
placed the picture and story of students Matthew Agan's
and Levi Grooms' marriage on the front page of the
February 15th, 2000 newspaper: "Saturday, Feb. 12,
marked a momentous occasion among Miami students. In a
symbol of love and attention for their cause,
sophomores Levi Grooms and Matthew Agan married each
other at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. With the funds
of MUGLBA, Students for Peace and AWS, the marriage
demonstrated commitment and follow-through with
conviction to lifestyle. The fortitude and well-rounded
support for the unity comes at a time of national
acceptance and tolerance. The marriage of Grooms and
Agan should be a beacon toward furthering state
acceptance and equality in marriage rights and
practices."
June 2000: The first known civil union
announcement for a Miami couple was printed in the
Miamian, the alumni newsletter, in the Spring-Summer
edition (Vol. 18, No. 3, Page 41): "David Greenbaum and
Michael Silverman were joined in a Brit Ahavah ceremony
at Temple Israel in Omaha June 6, 1999. Both are in the
computer industry and live in Lawrence, Kansas."
August 2000: The Provost and Executive
Vice President for Academic Affairs, Ronald Crutcher,
and the Vice President for Finance and Business
Services and Treasurer, Richard Norman, issue a memo to
faculty and staff on August 29, 2000 directing that
faculty and staff listings will no longer include
spouse names. "We have determined that listing and
maintaining this information in a business directory is
not essential or appropriate." The changes are
reflected in the 2000-01 university directory.
September 2000: Daniel Meyers and
Stephen Sauer II enter into a Vermont Civil Union and
become the first known Oxford couple to do so. Dan, an
employee at Miami, applies for domestic partner
benefits in the Personnel Office. His request is
denied.
May 2001: Lavender Graduation begins
on campus. 1809 Lambda Alumni Board members organize
that the graduate had three graduates. The event was
held on Western campus at the Freedom Summer memorial
Ampitheater. Each grad received a lavendar graduation
cord and a rainbow tassel.
October 2002: On Saturday, October 19,
2002, twelve people who listed themselves as out in the
National Coming Out Day ad received a hate letter via
e-mail. In response to this action, Spectrum and GLEAM
members took time to educate people about what happened
and what's going on, including administrators, members
of the press, students, and faculty. Simultaneously,
other people and groups on campus had been dealing with
a cross-burning in a staff member's yard that also
happened during this weekend. This was a racially
motivated event regarding their biracial child.
Spectrum, along with MU Solidarity, and other groups of
minority students on campus joined together on Tuesday,
October 22nd, 2002, at 5:00 pm behind Shriver at the
reflecting pool for a No-Hate rally and protest against
these actions. The rally led to a march though the
streets of Oxford, ending up at the Martin Luther King
Jr. park in uptown Oxford. President Garland and Lt.
Andrew Powers, from the Miami University police, issue
statements condemning the hate crimes.
September 2003: The Princeton Review
ranks Miami the 5th worst school in America at which to
be GLBT. The Miami Student covers the story and writes
an editorial urging support for our community.
September 2003: The Office of GLBT
services opens in MacMillan Hall with Alan Glass, M.D.
as the first director.
February 2004: President James Garland
sends a letter to Gov. Taft opposing Ohio's pending
"Super-DOMA" bill, which would deny civil rights to all
GLBT people and would forbid state entities from
issuing domestic partner benefits to GLBT employees.
Gov. Taft signs the bill anyway.
February 2004: Members of Spectrum
organize a student rally against the so-called "Defense
of Marriage Act" at the Ohio Statehouse.
Representatives from Ohioans for Growth and Equality,
Stonewall Columbus, State Senator Eric Fingerhut, and
student leaders from throughout Ohio address a
respectable crowd.
April 2004: The Miami ASG Student
Senate endorses domestic partner benefits for partners
of Miami employees by a vote of 33-2 with four
abstentions.
June 25, 2004: Miami University will
offer health and dental insurance and other benefits to
same-sex domestic partners of faculty and staff
starting July 1, Miami President Jim Garland announced
today (June 25) at the meeting of the university's
board of trustees. “It is clear to me that
domestic partner benefits have important practical
implications for the university and, specifically, for
our ability to recruit and retain talented employees. I
have no doubt that this modest change in our benefits
package will be a tangible factor as we recruit new
people to the campus in the coming years,” noted
Garland. While a change in insurance benefits did not
require trustee action, members of the board
unanimously endorsed the change by resolution.
“Having given this issue much thought and
deliberation, I have come to the conclusion that in the
current hiring environment, extending domestic partner
benefits is necessary to recruit the very best faculty
and staff possible. I support President Garland’s
decision, and I would like the trustees to have an
opportunity to show their support, as well,” said
Chairman Fred Wall. Garland noted also that domestic
partner benefits today are offered by more than 150
universities, including 75 percent of the top-ranked
national universities, nearly 40 percent of Fortune 500
companies and nearly 60 percent of Fortune 100
companies. Today Ohio University trustees also endorsed
a new domestic-partner benefit policy for Ohio U.
employees. “The numbers are growing each
year,” Garland said. “The concept has
clearly moved into the mainstream, and to remain
competitive I believe it is time the university
responded to that reality. For many businesses and
universities, and quite apart from personal
convictions, health insurance for domestic partners is
a business decision.” To receive the benefits for
their partners, eligible faculty and staff members will
be required to file an “affidavit of domestic
partnership,” which certifies that the employee
is in a long-term, committed relationship with his or
her domestic partner and shares financial obligations
and a residence with that person. Research shows that
typically fewer than 0.5 percent of faculty and staff
members use same-sex partner benefits if available,
which would mean about 18 employees are likely to
enroll for the new benefits, Garland said. Costs are
predicted to be no more than $50,000-$100,000 a year.
The university currently pays $22 million in insurance
benefits to employees.
2005: 1809 Lambda changes its name to
1809 LBGT Alumni. 1809 LGBT alumni names the annual
$1000 scholarship after Roy Bowen Ward. GLBT Office
becomes a part of the Office of Diversity Affairs.
November 23, 2005: GOP Lawmaker Tom
Brinkman Sues Miami University To Block Gay Partner
Benefits. From a news brief filed by Lori Kurtzman,
Enquirer staff writer,
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051123/NEWS01/511230375/1056.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report):
State Rep. Tom Brinkman Jr. filed suit against Miami
University on Tuesday, claiming its same-sex
partnership policy violates an Ohio constitutional ban
on civil unions that went into effect a year ago.
Brinkman's lawsuit, filed in the Butler County Common
Pleas Court, says Miami 'has created and recognized a
legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals
that intends to approximate the design, qualities,
significance or effect of marriage.' Two of Brinkman's
children attend Miami. The suit notes that Brinkman, a
Cincinnati Republican, 'desires that his tax dollars
and tuition payments be utilized lawfully, and not
applied by the University to finance the constitutional
violation challenged herein.' Miami began offering
benefits, including health and dental insurance, ticket
discounts and tuition remission, to same-sex domestic
partners of faculty and staff members in July 2004. In
November 2004, Ohio voters passed the state Marriage
Amendment, which says 'only a union between one man and
one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by
this state and its political subdivisions.' 'Miami in
particular has gone out of its way to kind of thumb its
nose at the Constitution with the enactment of its
domestic partner policy,' which applies only to
same-sex partners, said Brinkman's attorney, David
Langdon, a conservative activist who wrote language for
the Marriage Amendment. 'They've set up a structure
that's virtually identical to marriage.' Langdon said
he believes this is the first suit against a
university's domestic partnership policy since the
amendment took effect. Ohio State, Cleveland State,
Youngstown State and Ohio universities also offer
domestic partner benefits but are not named in the
suit. Miami spokesman Richard Little said Tuesday that
school officials have regular contact with Brinkman but
were surprised to hear about the lawsuit. Little said
he has never discussed the issue with Brinkman, adding
that Miami has no plans to rescind its policy. About 30
people have taken advantage of some of the benefits,
Little said. Last year, school officials estimated that
the cost of benefits for gay and lesbian employees
would amount to less than $100,000. Miami now pays
about $50 million in annual benefits for its faculty
and staff members. Brinkman, also represented in the
suit by the Arizona-based Christian legal group
Alliance Defense Fund, seeks a declaratory judgment and
injunction against the university's domestic
partnership policy, plus legal fees.
November 21, 2006: Miami U keeps
partner benefits. From a news brief filed by Janice
Morse, Cincinnati Enquirer staff writer,
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061121/NEWS01/611210407/1077/COL02.
A yearlong court battle over benefits for the same-sex
'domestic partners' of Miami University employees has
ended in a victory for gay- and lesbian-rights
advocates. Butler County Common Pleas Court on Monday
dismissed a taxpayer's lawsuit brought by an Ohio
lawmaker who opposed dental and health coverage for
Miami workers' live-in partners. State Rep. Tom
Brinkman Jr., R-Cincinnati, whose two children were
attending Miami, filed suit against Miami University
last year. It claimed its same-sex partnership policy
violates an Ohio constitutional ban on civil unions
that went into effect in 2004. Other colleges and
universities had said they were closely watching the
case because it could have implications for them.
Brinkman's suit, supported by the Arizona-based
Christian legal group Alliance Defense Fund, said he
wanted his tax dollars and tuition payments "to be
utilized lawfully, and not applied by the university to
finance the constitutional violation challenged
herein." But in Monday's decision, "the court has
affirmed that Mr. Brinkman's daily life is unaffected
when the domestic partners of lesbian and gay
university employees have health insurance and he
therefore has no standing to bring a lawsuit," said
James P. Madigan, staff attorney in Chicago for Lambda
Legal, a national advocacy group that intervened in the
suit. Lambda Legal argued Brinkman had no standing to
sue, because the university pays for its domestic
partner benefits with private donations, not with tax
dollars or tuition. The group also argued Brinkman had
not shown that he suffered any direct impact that would
be corrected if Miami University took away health and
dental insurance it offers to the domestic partners of
university employees. Miami began offering benefits,
including health and dental insurance, ticket discounts
and tuition remission, to same-sex domestic partners of
faculty and staff members in July 2004. Ohio voters
passed in November 2004 the state Marriage Amendment,
which says "only a union between one man and one woman
may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this state
and its political subdivisions." Lambda Legal
maintained that Ohio's constitutional amendment does
not apply to the university because it concerns only
marriage and does not address the legality of domestic
partnership benefits. As of last year about 30 people
had taken advantage of some of the benefits, school
officials said. Last year, school officials estimated
that the cost of benefits for gay and lesbian employees
would amount to less than $100,000 - a fraction of the
$50 million in annual benefits for faculty and staff
members.
August 28, 2007: Same-sex benefits
challenge tossed. From a news brief filed by Dan
Horn, Cincinnati Enquirer staff writer,
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070828/NEWS01/308280051.
Miami University’s practice of offering benefits
to same-sex “domestic partners” of its
employees survived another court challenge Tuesday. The
Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals ruled that State
Rep. Tom Brinkman Jr., a Cincinnati Republican, did not
have legal standing to sue the university over its
benefits policy. Brinkman had argued the same-sex
partnership policy violates an Ohio constitutional ban
on civil unions that went into effect in 2004. As a
taxpayer and the parent of two Miami students, Brinkman
said he had a legal right to sue. The appeals court,
however, upheld a lower court decision last year that
dismissed Brinkman’s lawsuit. Both courts
concluded Brinkman did not have standing as a taxpayer
because the school uses private donations to reimburse
the state for tax dollars spent on its domestic partner
benefits. Brinkman cannot demonstrate any injury
… based upon his status as a taxpayer,”
wrote Judge James A. Brogan, who was joined in the 3-0
decision by judges James E. Walsh and H.J. Bressler.
The court also found that Brinkman did not have
standing to sue as the tuition-paying parent of Miami
students because it’s his choice to send his
children to the school. Brinkman, who declined to
comment Tuesday, could appeal the decision to the Ohio
Supreme Court. Brinkman’s suit was supported by
the Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona-based Christian
legal organization. Another advocacy group, Lambda
Legal in Chicago, intervened in support of
Miami’s policy. Al Gerhardstein, one of
Lambda’s lawyers, said the rulings establish that
providing insurance does not constitute recognition of
gay marriage, as Brinkman claimed. “If he really
wants to change this, he should go through the
legislature,” Gerhardstein said. “I would
hope he’d have a hard time there.” Miami
began offering benefits to domestic partners of
employees in July 2004. School officials have said
about 30 people have the benefits at a total cost of
less than $100,000.
