LGBT Resource Center, 1970-2014 | Northern Illinois University

Student activism following the Stonewall riots that took place in New York in 1969, resulted in the establishment of the NIU Gay Liberation Front, a group which received recognition from the NIU Student Association on April 12, 1970.  The Gay Liberation Front continued its activities, and in April of 1975 changed its name to the Gay Community Organization.  The first Gay Awareness Day took place in April 1980 sponsored by the Gay Community Organization, which soon after changed its name to the Gay/Lesbian Union.  On November 21, 1986 the NIU Student Association amended its constitution to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.  Two months later, a University wide Task Force on Discrimination was formed, and in the spring of 1988 NIU revised its constitution to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.  In the Fall of 1991 the Gay and Lesbian Alliance was established, the first organization specifically for faculty and staff.  NIU President John LaTourette formed a Task Force on Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation in January 1992, and in the Fall of 1994 established the President’s Advisory Committee on Sexual Orientation to monitor the implementation of the Task Force’s recommendations.  Meanwhile, with continued growth and awareness, the Gay/Lesbian Union changed its name to the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Coalition in the Fall of 1993.  In April of 1996 the Presidential Committee on Sexual Orientation together with the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Coalition established the Eychaner Award to recognize positive contributions to the gay lesbian bisexual community.  A Safe Zone Program was launched in February 1997, the first program involving allies in the LGBT community at NIU. The culmination of all the growth of gay lesbian bisexual transgender organizations and activism came on August 17, 1998 when Northern Illinois University established a half-time staff position for a Program Coordinator of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Programs in the Office of University Programming and Activities.  Margaret M. “Margie” Cook, was hired to fill the position, and just over a year later on October 1, 1999 the position became full time.  The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Coalition changed its name to Prism in October 1998.  The Presidential Committee on Sexual Orientation, in November 2001, recommended that a Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center be established at NIU.  In October 2002 office space was officially designated for the LGBT Resource Center, and on March 17, 2003 the Center opened on the seventh floor of the Holmes Student Center.  The Resource Center contains two offices for staff, an office for Prism, and a resource room with a library, com-puters, and other informational resources.  After nearly twelve years of coordinating LGBT programs, Margie Cook left her position as Director of the LGBT Resource Center in April of 2010 to take a position as assistant director of the Center for Student Diversity at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.  She was replaced by Molly Holmes. Author: Margie Cook, "Historical Timeline...," circa 2004