Our collections can be searched and browsed through our catalog.
This database includes finding aids for our institutional records and manuscript collections. Finding aids describe collections, how they were created, and how they can be accessed.
If have questions or would like to view our materials in-person, please email the department for assistance.
Davidsoniana Files, or "D-Files," primarily contain secondary source information and are housed in Archives and Special Collections. This includes newspaper articles, scanned memos, brochures and pamphlets, memorial speeches, and booklets.
A selection of D-Files related to LGBTQIA+ life at Davidson:
In recent decades, LGBTQIA+ activism and advocacy has increased on campus through the creation of student organizations, education about LGBTQIA+ life and issues, and an expansion on-campus support and resources. Campus conversations around LGBTQIA+ life began primarily in the 1980s and continue today. Student organizations, such as FLAG (Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance), formed on-campus as a resource for queer students to explore their identities and to promote advocacy and acceptance. During the 1980s and 1990s, as the AIDS epidemic affected populations on a local, national, and international level, Davidson was not left unaffected. Scotty Nichols, the former director of Residence Life, created quilt squares in remembrance of students and staff who passed away due to AIDS and in 1994, the AIDS Memorial Quilt was brought to campus and displayed in Johnston Gym, now the Alvarez College Union.
Page from 1997 Quips and Cranks about FLAG
LGBTQIA+ advocacy and support continues on campus today through various campus resources, including student organizations like Queers & Allies (Q&A) and You Are Not A Stranger Here (YANASH), the Davidson LGBTQ+ Alumni Network (DLAN), and the Center for Diversity and Inclusion.
Campus publications, such as student newspaper The Davidsonian, covered events related to student activism and campus issues. For more information on LGBTQIA+ advocacy on campus, browse digitized issues of The Davidsonian, available online. Individual issues are searchable by keyword.
Select articles related to LGBTQIA+ advocacy include:
Archival materials are the institutional records of Davidson College from its establishment in 1837 to the present day. Included within the collections are president's office records, academic department files, and student organization records. Listed below is a selection of relevant collections related to LGBTQIA+ life on campus. Collections are organized by record group, along with a brief description of the collection's contents, and are hyperlinked to the collection's digital finding aid.
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Mailing Address: Davidson College - E.H. Little Library, 209 Ridge Road, Box 5000, Davidson, NC 28035