QRC Staff Document History and Reflect on Progress

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Oraz says they hope the timeline can generate more conversations about this topic. “I think the biggest part for me, as a person who holds a lot of identities that are non-dominant, is that it will produce more conversations about intersectionality,” they said. “For example, what was the influence of queer people of color? Or what is the position of queer people who are international students? How queerness interacts with being first-gen, low-income.”

Oraz questioned what people think of when they talk about “queerness at Amherst College,” emphasizing the importance of confronting the at-times comfortable relationship that the institu- tion establishes between queerness and whiteness, and “why we lean towards appreciation and acceptance of certain gender identities, but not all of them.”

Hodges and Oraz both highlighted how this link to history motivates them in their own work at the QRC today. “You can see — it took so many steps to have any type of queer acceptance on campus, and then it took steps for the QRC to become a thing, and then it took steps for queer people to have the community, and then it took steps for queer alliance[s] to have so many clubs and associations, like QTPOC [Queer and Trans People of Color], QAA [Queer Athletes Alliance],” said Oraz. “When you see that there is some progression, you become motivated about your work, actually, because you understand that if at some point, we did start … then what I’m working on doing right now will do more.”

Nicholas agreed, noting that the timeline reflects the power of student activism for future generations. The timeline is “a reminder that these spaces are not a given but are made by the queer and trans people before us,” they said. “It’s a reminder that these spaces help us survive.”

In the end, Oraz said, they believe the timeline is valuable because it creates conversation. “A lot of times, I think people kind of downplay the importance of talking about something,” they said. “The idea of talking about something is also connected to the idea of being heard. And without generating the talking material, how can we hope to get heard?”

To view the timeline in person and get more specific information and dates, you can find it in the QRC on the second floor of Keefe Campus Center. The center’s open hours are from 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. The center also welcomes feedback on the timeline, which you can add to the bulletin board placed next to it in the QRC. For other updates, check out the center’s Instagram, @amherstqrc.