Organizations

This page is for information about various organizations who have contributed to the LGBTQ history of the region.

ASWSU: The Associated Students of Washington State University (ASWSU) is the student body government at Washington State University. ASWSU has a number of Committees, many of which are focused on issues facing minority student populations. Debates about whether to allow or fund a Gay Awareness Committee cropped up throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s as the Gay Awareness Committee won, lost, and eventually won back its Committee Status.

AWS: Association of Women Students (AWS) is an organization dating back to 1912 that dealt with women's issues at Washington State University. AWS was responsible for bringing the first public discussion about gay issues to WSU.

BAC: The Black Advisory Council (BAC) is a longstanding ASWSU committee focused on issues concerning black students on the WSU campus. BAC and the Gay Awareness Committee engaged in public debates about minority organization funding and minority coalitions.

Gay Awareness Committee: The Gay Awareness Committee (GA), now titled Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA), is an ASWSU committee that existed for short spurts in the 1970s, tried to reform in the 1980s, and was re-established in the 1990s. The debates about GA were aired publicly and sometimes viciously in the student newspaper the Daily Evergreen.

GIESORC: The Gender Identity/Expression and Sexual Orientation Resource Center (GIESORC) is a university center at Washington State University founded in 1994 as Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Programs. GIESORC remains an important part of WSU's queer life.

Inland Oasis:  This is a local organization devoted to serving the LGBTQ+ population of the Palouse. For some time, Inland Oasis did HIV/AIDS testing for blood. Inland Oasis continues to hold events, including the annual Moscow Gay Pride parade and festival and drag bingo.

NWGPA: The Northwest Gay People's Alliance (NWGPA) was incorporated in the state of Idaho in 1974 as the first open gay rights organization. Although incorporated in the state capital of Boise, NWGPA was founded in Moscow, Idaho and held many of its first meetings at the University of Idaho Women's Center. NWGPA was an active organization pushing for a housing non-discrimination ordinance and appearing in an award-winning documentary about lesbian and gay people in Pullman, Washington and Moscow, Idaho.

Women's Liberation: This was an organization on the Washington State University campus that focused on issues of gender and sexuality and existed alongside, but distinct from, GA and NWGPA. Women's Liberation and GA often worked together to challenge discrimination that was both sexist and homophobic.