John McVey remembers coming out as a junior while at Ball State University 32 years ago.
The time was both a traumatic and easy time that was somewhat eased by maintaining social relationships with faculty members on campus.
"There was still a divide, but it did make us feel better," he said.
At the time Gay Activists Union, the GLBTQ organization on campus, had a couple meetings a month and served primarily as a way for members of the GLBTQ community to meet.
"It was a social outlet, a way of finding friends," McVey said. "It got to be fun to know you were helping some younger kids coming in and to let them know that there was someplace they could go and feel comfortable without the pressures of college in a different way."
The group still exists today as Spectrum and, with 110 people present at the first general body assembly for the Fall 2009 Semester, is stronger than ever, Damon Clevenger, the group's president, said.
"That was really impressive," Clevenger said, "especially seeing the new freshmen coming out and getting involved; and, hopefully, they stay involved for the next four years."
This year marks the 35th year a GLBTQ organization has existed on Ball State's campus and, over the years, it has adapted to changing social climates.
Before the name Spectrum was introduced, Ball State's original GLBTQ group was called the Muncie Gay Pride Coalition, and a few months later, the Gay Activists Union.
GAU was just starting when McVey took the lead of the organization with Susan Daniel and David Truax in 1977.
McVey also recalled participating in protests against gay rights opponent Anita Bryant in Fort Wayne and Indianapolis during this time.
"We were trying to show that we could make a statement without being terribly pushy and proddy about it, just to show the other side that we were, just as we do today, show that we're equals and need that respect and recognition," he said.
McVey said such protests helped with the younger students coming in to the organization.
"A lot of them had come from places that said ‘You shouldn't do this at all.' It was good to show them that they had something available and that they had a voice," he said.
After graduating from Ball State, McVey moved to Tracy, Calif., and has spent the last 30 years as a library technician at an elementary school. Every once in a while he takes time to reflect on his GAU experiences, he said.
"It kind of gave a purpose within a purpose at Ball State and was a way for us to expand who each of us were and to show that we could get each other a wider education, and I think it worked for a majority of us," he said.
Clevenger said one of the consistent jobs GAU and now Spectrum, has done on campus is provide a Speaker Panel Program, which allows various classes at Ball State to have a group of speakers from the current campus GLBTQ organization answer questions about sexuality.
Clevenger said it was another way to uphold the main goal of Ball State's GLBTQ community: stay visible.
"The more visibility we have, I think the more people will find that we're just like everybody else — we just love differently," he said.
During the 1970s and 1980s, GAU began to lose steam and continued to change its name.
There was little university support and problems with membership numbers, though things began to change in the 1990s.
David Speakman and Stephanie Minehart presided over Ball State Lesbian and Gay Student Alliance in 1988 and decided to shut it down for a year to see if there was still a need for the organization.
"People weren't coming to meetings and it was the height of the AIDS crisis," Speakman said.
But in 1988, a bunch of bad things happened that led to the organization's reemergence as a support network, he said.
"We had a lesbian friend of ours who was followed home from a bar and raped by a guy who wanted to prove to her all she needed was a man; there was somebody who committed suicide," he said.
Speakman also pointed to a lot of anti-gay violence during this time in starting the organization up again earlier than was planned.
"In fact, I was the first openly gay person elected to the Student Senate and I was followed home one night and had the crap beaten out of me by people with beer bottles,"
Speakman said. "I never made a deal out if it because it was that time when people didn't really talk about it. Nothing was done about it with the cops or anything. We decided that if anyone was going to speak up for us, it was going to be us."
The Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay Student Association was then created in 1990 as an organized GLBTQ presence reemerged on campus. Instead of concentrating on activism and awareness, LBGSA focused on working as a support system for GLBTQ students. Spectrum secretary Jacinta Yanders said this is an important distinction for GLBTQ groups on campus.
"It gives people a place to go that either just came out or are in the process of coming out," she said. "We have members who aren't out at home, but they can be who they are here at Spectrum. People who may be having conflict with their parents ... really need Spectrum to be there to support them."
Another change made in the 1990s was the creation of support for students. The SAFE On-Campus organization was made up of staff and faculty who were certified to serve as allies to GLBTQ students. Yanders — who is a Spectrum straight ally — said support systems are vital.
"It's important for any minority group that is trying to get any sort of rights or equality to have assistance from people within the majority because that helps them in whatever they're trying to do," she said. "It just helps bridge a gap of sorts between people because people don't necessarily think of straight people being part of the GLBT community. But I think all of us allies help bridge that gap."
LBGSA had to wait until 1994 to receive official office space. Soon after, the group had a staff adviser and funding from the Student Activities fund. Former LBGSA president Kerry Poynter said he remembers the group's first office space as a major milestone.
"I do remember when ... we got that office space. It was a big deal," Poynter said. "Before that, files of information would be stored at people's houses and get lost. I think it was the first time the university recognized the student organization was doing really good work. The early '90s were a different time than it is now, especially when it comes to GLBT issues."
In 1998, the group's name was changed a final time and was not specific as to who was involved in the group. The name ‘Spectrum' allowed the organization to appeal to all kinds of students.
"They decided, ‘What can we come up with represents our community that's a lot simpler and more inclusive?' So they came up with Spectrum and I'm glad they did," Clevenger said.
Yanders said the name Spectrum is a perfect way to showcase the community aspect of the group.
"We call it a family because it really is just a giant family," she said. "You meet so many different people. You get not just sexuality differences, but diversity of other types within the group."
Today, Spectrum continues to get larger as the organization currently has about 150 members, Clevenger said. The group hosts numerous events and fundraisers including conferences, current events meetings, drag shows and Homecoming activities.
However, Clevenger said Spectrum's biggest responsibility is still serving as a support group for students who are struggling.
"If people are not able to feel comfortable being out, I think Spectrum is a good foundation of a starting point for those individuals to come to terms with their identity and start feeling safe and accepted so that maybe they might branch out and talk to their family and friends," he said. "Without that, I don't really know that we could be stronger advocates for equality or any issue."
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