Queer Resources at Mount Holyoke College
& in the Five College Area
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The Five College community in western Massachusetts consists of Mount Holyoke College, Amherst College, Hampshire College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Students at each of the schools can access the abundant facilities and resources of all participating institutions. Students can also join in Five College student organizations and attend lectures, parties, and other cultural and social events taking place in this community of more than 30,000 students. Free buses run frequently between the five campuses, located within a 12-mile radius of one another.
A rich assortment of organizations caters to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer, questioning, and allied (LGBTQQA) communities at the colleges, and in the community at large. This is not a comprehensive list, but it should be useful to you in finding queer-friendly places and resources at Mount Holyoke, and in the Five College area.
Mount Holyoke College does not discriminate in its educational and employment policies on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, handicap or disability, or veteran/uniformed services status.
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OUTreach is a student organization at Mount Holyoke College providing support, activism, outreach, and social functions for the lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and straight ally population at both Mount Holyoke and in the greater community.
Website: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/org/colors/
Contact: owner-outreach-l@mtholyoke.edu
Open Gates' mission is to advocate for the full inclusion of trans women on the Mount Holyoke College campus and beyond. With the recent admission policy changes, Open Gates is working to educate and create space for constructive dialogue regarding trans identities, especially the violent exclusion so many trans women and non binary transfeminine people face in spaces like MHC. They were established in the spring of 2014 and are active and visible on campus and in the media.
Email address: opengatesmhc@gmail.com
Website: http://opengatesmhc.tumblr.com/
Jeannette Marks House provides a safe space and community center for lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and allied students at Mount Holyoke. Located at 5 Faculty Lane, the space is used by members of the community for meetings, events, and a resource library.
Website: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/facilities/marks_house.html
Contact: owner-marks-house-a@mtholyoke.edu
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CoGA (Coalition for Gender Awareness) supports and affirms the various gender identities existing within the Mount Holyoke community through the cultivation of a safe space, educational outreach, advocacy, and visibility.
Website: http://cogamhc.tumblr.com/
Contact: cogamhc@gmail.com
FAMILIA is a confidential support network that serves self-identified LGBTQ people of color in the 5-college community. FAMILIA aims to increase the visibility of LGBTQQ people of color in the 5-colleges and to increase awareness in the 5-college community about issues affecting LGBTQQ people of color by creating a space for open dialogue.
Contact: owner-familia-l@mtholyoke.edu
Femmepowered is an LBTGQA+ org that seeks to dismantle misogyny on campus by creating space and visibility for femme-identified people in the queer community.
Contact: femmemhc@gmail.com
Qeshet (Rainbow) is the Five College GLBTQQA group for queer and questioning Jews.
Contact: smoser@external.umass.edu
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Mount Holyoke Lyon's Pride is the queer alumnae/i network at Mount Holyoke. They also welcome faculty, staff, students and partners of members as associate members. Email lists, a membership directory, a calendar of events, and much more is accessible on the website.
Website: http://www.mhlp.org
Contact: president@mhlp.org
PFLAG promotes the health and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons, their families and friends through: support, to come with an adverse society; education, to enlighten an ill-informed public; and advocacy, to end discrimination and to secure equal civil rights. Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays provides an opportunity for dialogue about sexual orientation and gender identity, and acts to create a society that is healthy and respectful of human diversity.
Website: http://www.pflag.org
Contact: info@pflag.org
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LGBT Staff/Faculty "List" is a loose affiliation of Mount Holyoke College staff and faculty members that keep in contact via email. It is predominately a social network.
Contact: kpepe@mtholyoke.edu
LGBTQQA Ad hoc Committee is a team of Mount Holyoke College staff and faculty representatives of most departments on campus organized to establish and strengthen a staff outreach / mentoring / advocacy presence on our campus to institutionally support the LGBTQQA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, and Allied) student, staff and faculty community of Mount Holyoke College.
Contact: kbergbom@mtholyoke.edu
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The LGBT Coalition of Western Massachusetts maintains a comprehensive website of announcements, a calendar, a newsletter, and a bulletin board. The local resource listings are superb!
Website: http://www.lgbtcoalitionwma.org
The Stonewall Center at UMass has a great email listserve called QueerE, which gives weekly updates on events, calls to action, roommates, jobs, and other queer info. And their Speakers Bureau offers trained presenters for panels and discussions on LGBT issues.
Website: http://www.umass.edu/stonewall
QueerE sign-up page: http://www.umass.edu/stonewall/queere/
Speakers Bureau: http://www.umass.edu/stonewall/sb/
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Trans Activist Network is a network of individuals and groups in Western Massachusetts working together for the purpose of outreach, activism and education. TAN welcomes everyone who would like to participate in breaking down gender barriers. This includes transgender individuals along with their allies, partners, family, friends and anyone sympathetic to the pursuit of greater gender freedom.
Website: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transactivists/
East Coast FtM Group is a free, peer support group since 1992 for all female-to-male transgenders, transsexuals, cross-dressers, gender-queer, dual gendered, genderblended, questioning, and their significant others. They meet the 2nd Sunday of every month from 3:00 to 6:00pm in Northampton.
Contact: betpower@yahoo.com
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UniTy of the Pioneer Valley is open to people who identify as transgendered, as well as their allies, friends, significant others and family members. UniTy meets every 2nd and 4th Thursday at Baystate Medical Center Springfield, MA. Social hour begins at 6:30 and the meeting runs from 7:30 to 9:00 pm.
Website: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unity-of-the-pioneer-valley/
Phone: (413) 736-4773 or (413)731-7455
Trans Support Group is open to all people ages 15-24 who would like to talk about or are questioning their gender. It meets the second Wednesday at Pride Zone in Northampton from 6:30-8:30 pm.
Contact: Mitch, (413)586-8517
The Sunshine Club is a social, support, and educational group for members of the transgendered community, significant others, and allies.
Website: http://thesunshineclub.org/
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Divas Nightclub has 18+ nights Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Wednesdays are popular for their drag shows, and Tuesdays are goth nights.
Website: http://www.divasofnoho.com/
492 North Pleasant St
Northampton, MA 01060
(413)586-8161
Haymarket Cafe, located on Main St in Northampton, is a great vegetarian/vegan place to hang and eat. It attracts a very gay-friendly clientele.
Website: http://www.haymarketcafe.com
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All of the Mount Holyoke College campus offices are regarded as "SAFE ZONES" for addressing concerns specific to the LGBTQQA community. The following may be especially helpful resources:
Counseling Services x2037
Career Development x2080
Ombudsman x2413
Health Services x2466 (Devon Kelting specializes in queer issues)
Public Safety x2304
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| Illustrations by Abigail G. Burns '04 |
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