October is LGBTQ+ History Month and Elizabethtown College is doing their part to help celebrate. From Oct. 13-27, the High Library hosted an exhibit detailing the history of LGBTQ+ activism at colleges in Pennsylvania. On loan from the LGBT Center of Harrisburg, the exhibit has information that includes everything from LGBTQ+ club founding to personal stories of LGBTQ+ students on Pennsylvania college campuses. The interactive experience was put together by 11 different professors from campuses located throughout the state and includes Dr. Marc Stein, a well-known professor from San Francisco State University.
While Etown has hosted exhibits from the LGBT Center of Harrisburg in the past, they wanted to bring something to campus that would help highlight and celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month. When Instruction and Outreach Librarian Josh Cohen reached out to see if they had anything that would accomplish this, there was one that stuck out to him. “They had this exhibit, and one of the things that I really liked was it’s an exhibit that the topic would be particularly relevant to, I think, students and you know, interesting to students,” Cohen said. It was decided that the traveling exhibit “Out on Campus: A History of LGBTQ+ Activism at Pennsylvania Colleges & Universities” would come to Etown for two weeks in late October. Some of the schools that were focused on in the exhibit include Penn State University, Lehigh University and even the University of Pittsburgh.
The exhibit was put together by the LGBT Center of Harrisburg, a local organization that’s devoted to creating communities for those that identify as LGBTQ+ by using social, educational and cultural engagement. The group set out with the idea of highlighting the experiences of students who identified as LGBTQ+ in the 1960s and some of the oppression that they had dealt with. In an effort to make sure that they had properly done what they intended to, the LGBT Center of Harrisburg made sure to cover a wide variety of schools located in east, west and central Pennsylvania.
Both Etown and the LGBT Center of Harrisburg wanted to educate and bring awareness to the battles of the LGBTQ+ students that have fought for their rights. With the exhibit, that goal is accomplished. While the exhibit focuses on many schools throughout Pennsylvania, the project doesn’t include any schools near Elizabethtown that help detail the history of LGBTQ+ in Lancaster County. After researching, an interview that talked to someone who grew up in Lancaster was found. In an effort to help tell the story of LGBTQ+ History and activism in Lancaster County, the interview will be used in order to tell the story of Don Haines.
Don Haines is a local man who came out in 1987. Growing up in Lancaster, Pa., Haines became familiar with the attitudes of the locals that lived there at the time. He recalled that in the 70s, there weren’t many places to go or people to talk to due to the discrimination that many members of the LGBTQ+ community faced. As Haines said, “You just never knew, you just knew it was a hostile world out there and you just had to adapt to it. It was just terrible.” Haines went on to attend Millersville University, where he discovered a group called Veritas. The group was the first sense of support that Haines found, as they got together and talked about the things that they were going through and the things that they were feeling. After graduating, Haines went on to discover Metropolitan Community Church of the Spirit, a church located in Harrisburg, Pa. The church, which accepted LGBTQ+ people, had a helpline that allowed anyone to call and talk if they needed to. It was here that Haines was able to find a community that he felt accepted in. Haines remained involved in the church, where he even hosted social gatherings at his parent’s house where members of the church could get together and enjoy themselves. Since his decision to come out, Haines says he has seen a positive increase in the way that LGBTQ+-identified people are treated. “I know the people and the culture and everything, and I actually have been quite at odds with a lot of the attitudes here, but I do see really a big change in the whole dynamics of Lancaster County now as opposed to years back when I first came out.”
Haines’ story and the exhibit on display act as a reminder of how far Pennsylvania has come in terms of LGBTQ+ activism. However, they also act as a reminder of how much work still remains. LGBTQ+ activism has improved drastically from what it used to be. By knowing where it once was, it becomes easier to keep improving for the future.
