Student Activism at University of Maryland

The Black Student Union (BSU) records include materials such as scrapbooks, a yearbook DVD, photographs of BSU events, awards and plaques, and 4 posters used to promote BSU events. Materials date from 1986 to 2012.

The Campus Unrest records include photographs and documents from the Vietnam War protests at the University of Maryland between 1970 and 1972. The photographs capture demonstrations, police activity, arrests, and destruction, both on- and off-campus, caused by the protestors. Many images of damage in the Main Administration building from May 1970 are included. Documents include posters, news clippings, and recollections of the protests by students. There is also a detailed account of student dissent from the May 1970 demonstrations which contains copies of university correspondence, state of emergency updates, and student marshal guidelines

The Student Government Association (SGA) at the University of Maryland is the governance body for all undergraduate students. SGA representatives work with university administrators, other student bodies, and the local College Park government to implement legislation in response to student needs and concerns. The SGA records consist of meeting and committee minutes, the organization's constitution, legislators' binders, voting records, resolutions, memos and correspondence, newspaper articles, and budget reports. Some of the campus issues discussed in the records include student rights, health care, safety, diversity, multi-ethnic education, community service, and Greek life.

The Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Alliance is the successor to the Gay Student Alliance. This collection contains documentation related to the creation of an LGBT alumni group, meeting minutes from 1995 and 1996, and the university's 1996 Embracing Diversity report evaluating the campus climate toward LGBT students, staff, and faculty and providing recommendations for additional support for the LGBT community.

The Gay Student Alliance (GSA) was established at the University of Maryland in the 1970s as the successor of the Student Homophile Association (SHA). This collection contains newspaper clippings and editorials from the Diamondback chronicling the campus response to the gay community during the 1970s. Of particular note are legal documents and correspondence related to the SHA's 1971 suit against the Board of Regents for denying the organization funds allocated to it by the Student Government Association. Also included are press releases, brochures, and correspondence related to special events or university policies that affected gay students on campus, as well as copies of the GSA newsletter Outfront.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Equity Center serves all student, faculty, staff, and alumni of the University of Maryland and advocates for an equitable community. The LGBT Equity Center values leadership, collaboration, and social justice and works to provide training and resources on topics such as LGBT advocacy and inclusion. One of the major topics covered by these records is the extension of benefits to domestic partners. Other topics discussed include the Equity Center's speaker's bureau, Allies Month, Lesbian and Gay History Month, gender identity, and diversity. This collection consists of materials documenting the work of the Equity Center and its director, Luke Jensen, including administrative correspondence, group meeting minutes and agendas, reports, job descriptions, study results, newspaper clippings, flyers, academic proposals, and LGBT curriculum.

This collection documents the administrative activities of the President's Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues between 1997 and 2011. The Commission was formed by President Kirwan in 1997 as the President's Commission for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Issues. In 2000 the Commission was renamed the President's Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues. The Commission is currently active and responsible for advising the president on policies and programs that respond to the needs of the LGBTQ community at the University of Maryland, College Park.

This campus-wide group is a successor to the Chancellor's Commission on Women's Affairs. The commission's records contain minutes, committee files, reports, publications, budgetary materials, photographs, and newspaper clippings. Issues addressed in the files include athletics, violence, minority relations, and the treatment of women faculty and undergraduates. The commission's records are unprocessed, however a preliminary inventory is available.

The Chancellor's Commission on Women's Affairs was established by University of Maryland Chancellor Charles E. Bishop on December 3, 1973, to address the needs and concerns of women on the University of Maryland campus. Among the commission's goals were to maintain systematic contact with organizations on campus concerned with women's affairs and to identify unique problems faced by women at the university, including safety, implementation of Title IX in women's athletics, and the needs of campus working women. The commission's records include correspondence, minutes, administrative materials, commission-sponsored publications, and newsletters.

The Pride Alliance is an undergraduate student organization, formerly known as the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Alliance. The alliance works to advocate for and support people of all non-normative sexualities and genders at the university, as well as to educate the community. The records mainly include meeting agendas and correspondence relating to event planning for the organization. Also included is budget information, campus resources, and diversity-related articles.