1970, Late in the Year * WUGLM: Planning
A group of gay friends decided that there was a desperate need to
form an organization to deal with the problems of gay people
living in a heterosexual-dominated society. So eight students
undertook the task of forming Waterloo Universities' Gay
Liberation Movement (WUGLM). Incidentally, the phrase
“Waterloo Universities” referred to the fact that
WUGLM was to encompass both UW and WLU, although the group was
based at UW, since it was a more congenial environment in those days.
[source: Gemini II,
v.1, no.6, 1973, August - September, p.5]
[categories: campus groups | UW groups | WUGLM]
1971, Early * WUGLM: Announcement
A constitution for WUGLM (which was still being organized) was
published in the Chevron (the student newspaper at the time), the
Federation of Students was approached, and a first general
meeting was announced.
[source: Gemini II,
Volume 1, Issue 6, 1973, August - September, p.5.]
[categories: campus groups | UW groups | WUGLM]
1971, February 26 (Friday) * Chevron: News Note: Beginning of WUGLM
On p.3 of Chevron,
Vol.11, No.45, 1971, February 26 (Friday), there was a brief news note entitled
“Homophiles organize”, with the following reference
“See page 19 feature also”.
The text of the note read as follows.
“There is a move afoot to establish a gay liberation movement in Waterloo, based predominantly
within the two university communities. Following the examples of well established groups in the
US such as Mattachines [sic] society of Washington or the gay liberation movement in Los Angeles.
Similar movements have been started in the last year at the university of Toronto, York and
Western universities, and there are also current attempts at Guelph and McMaster universities.
In starting up the group, spokeman [sic] point to their problem as a ‘struggle to
live authentically in what is, overtly at least, an exclusively heterosexual uptight community.
They site [sic] experts who testify to their normality in their arguments which inherently
testify to the bigoted nature of canadian students and the public in general.
Gays are one of the groups in our supposedly just society who can really be labelled oppressed
without any exaggeration of the use of the word.”
[source: Chevron,
Vol.11, No.45, 1971, February 26 (Friday), p.3.]
[categories: campus groups | UW groups | Chevron | WUGLM]
1971, February 26 (Friday) * Chevron: Article: Beginning of WUGLM
On p.19 of Chevron, Vol.11, No.45, 1971, February 26 (Friday), there was a feature article by Robert Rogers (with the designation “chevron staff”) entitled “Gay group on campus”. The article appears to have been compiled from interviews with various people who had been in the process of organizing a campus gay group, whose name is given (probably for the first time in a publication) as Waterloo Universities' Gay Liberation Movement. It seems likely that much of the information came from one of the spokemen described as “a grad student in psychology at uniwat”, clearly John Dunbar, who later became the first president of WUGLM. The article referred to changing attitudes to homosexuality in the psychological community, but also pointed out the feeling of alienation that many gay students feel at university, particularly at Waterloo's universities. The article concluded by outlining the social philosophy and objectives of WUGLM, indicating that the group would strive “to meet the needs of the gay student and to advance the cause of gay freedom in the following ways:
1971, March 8 (Monday) * WUGLM: 1st Meeting
The first Meeting of Waterloo Universities' Gay Liberation Movement (WUGLM) was held.
Over a hundred men and women attended.
[source: Chevron, 1971, March 12, Friday, v.11, no.47, p.3;
Gemini II,
Volume 1, Issue 6, 1973, August - September, p.5.]
[categories: campus groups | UW groups | WUGLM | meetings]
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