Founding
The Out After Carleton alumni group (OAC) began in 1992 at a Carleton alumni reunion. The first OAC-only reunion was held in the Fall of 1998. At this reunion, alumni had a chance to meet with current students, faculty, and staff and were dissatisfied with the campus climate for LGBTQIA+ students. Alumni petitioned the administration to address the needs of LGBTQIA+ students and collaborated with the students, faculty, and staff already working on the administration to create Carleton’s first LGBT Advisor position. Kaaren Williamsen, then an Area Director in Residential Life, served as the part-time LGBT Advisor and Area Director for the 2000-2001 academic year.
Early Days
In 2001, Carleton’s Gender and Sexuality Center (GSC) was created, and Kaaren then became the first Director of the GSC as well as LGBT Advisor starting in the Fall of 2001. Her office was located in Skinner Memorial Chapel that year. The GSC’s first permanent location was in the basement of Scoville, which was made possible by the opening of the Language and Dining Center and the move of departments that had previously been housed in Scoville. Additionally, the Women’s Center agreed to give up its space to the newly-formed GSC. The basement of Scoville was also home to Multicultural Affairs (now the Office of Intercultural and International Life) as well as TRIO at that time. Eight Gender and Sexuality Center Associates (GSCAs) student peer leaders worked at the GSC the first year, and eleven worked the next year.
New Spaces
In Spring of 2016, the GSC moved to Clader House, donated to Carleton by Classics professor emeritus Linda Clader. The GSC has two student interest houses under its supervision, which are located on either side of Clader House. Women’s Advocacy House (Berg) was chartered in 1989 and thus pre-dates the GSC by more than a decade. Queers and Allies House (Henrickson) was chartered by the student group Sexuality and Gender Activism (SAGA) with encouragement from Kaaren Williamsen in 2000.
In 2019, the Gender & Sexuality Center collaborated with Residential Life to update charters for Berg and Henrickson. Known as Gender House, Berg welcomes all students seeking community around gender diversity. Known as the QTPoC (Queer Trans People of Color) House, Henrickson welcomes all students seeking community with queer and/or transgender people of color.
Continued Growth
The GSC has organized many programs during its time at Carleton. The GSC’s programming is responsive to students’ needs and interests and is continually changing, a few programs that have been favorites for many years are highlighted here.
- The annual spring Pride Banquet (now called GSC Senior Celebration) began in 1997 and has been continued by the GSC as a way to recognize graduating seniors.
- Tea Time (formerly LGBTea Time), the GSC’s first formal program, began in the Chapel in 2001 and continues to be held every Friday in Clader House.
- The Queer Peers volunteer mentorship program began in May 2005.
- Rainbow Reception, a welcome event held at the end of New Student Week, began in 2007.
- In 2006, the GSC added sexual violence prevention and healthy sexuality to its mission. In 2018, sexual violence prevention work moved to the office of the Title IX Coordinator now known as the office of Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response (SMPR).
- In 2006, Doing It Right (changed to #CarlTalk: Consent, Healthy Sexuality and Relationships) began to be presented annually as a sexual violence prevention program for incoming students. In 2019, a this talk was redesigned and became #CarlTalk: Connections & Consent.
- In 2020, Exhale Identity Series was launched to provide a space for current students to creatively express their experiences at Carleton related to identity and self-discovery.
Prepared for Carleton’s Sesquicentennial Celebration and the GSC’s 15th Anniversary in October 2016 by Matthew Elfstrand ’17.
*This page was updated with new information during the spring term of 2023.