The Queer-Straight Alliance has been a refuge for students for a quarter of a century. As the club celebrated the 25th anniversary of its founding this year, Proconian sought to discover how a few students in Chapel Hill created the first club educating a community about sexuality and homophobia in all of North Carolina.
While Chapel Hill is considered a fairly liberal area, reporters found through research how the school’s atmosphere was impacted by the prejudice that permeated society just a few decades ago. Former guidance counselor Mary Gratch was integral to the formation of the club, originally known as the Gay-Straight Alliance, but it was English teacher David Bruton who was the face of the club in the early days, risking his reputation as a result.
Former students, many who were part of the early GSA membership, also contributed to the account of the club’s formation. Coverage in early ‘90s issues of Hillife and Proconian express a variety of viewpoints of the club and the literature project that sparked the majority of the violence and harassment Bruton endured during his efforts to improve the school environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer students.
