September Lennoxville, Qué. Campus […]

Graph

When

1980-09

Description

September Lennoxville, Qué. Campus officials at Bishop's University and Champlain Regional College halted distribution of the 1980–81 joint student handbook because of allegations of gay editorial bias. The handbook was edited by openly gay student Daron Westman, president of the Bishop's-Champlain Gay Students' Alliance, and contained positive sections on gay topics, such as the position of gays in society, and information on local gay nightlife. Distribution continued only after a printed disclaimer was issued with each copy. Late in the evening of September 9, 1980, over seventy-five mostly male students from Bishop's gathered behind a campus residence and burned one hundred copies of the handbook in a bonfire. The event was held to demonstrate against "fag propaganda" and material allegedly inappropriate to the university. C.I.H. Nicholl, the principal of Bishop's University, refused to comment on the incident. On September 17, 1980, a public meeting was held to discuss the book burning.

All Places

Bishop's University Lennoxville

All People

C.I.H. Nicholl Daron Westman

All Citations

"Student Handbook Impounded," Toronto Star, four star ed., 3 September 1980, p. A10."Gay Handbook Comes Out of Closet in Quebec," Varsity (Univ. of Toronto), 10 September 1980, p. 14 Gilles Garneau, "Un guide fait scandale en Estrie," Le Berdache, no. 14 (1980), p. 6 Bernard Courte, "Lennoxville connaît des hauts et des bas...," Le Berdache, no. 16 (1980–81), p. 12 Janet Cotton, "A Sad Gay at Bishop's," Maclean's, 6 October 1980, pp. 40–41 "Campus Guide Stressing Gay Rights Withheld," Hamilton Spectator, city ed., 3 September 1980, p. 16 Joanne Brown, Stuart Russell, and Paul Trollope, "University Students Burn Handbook in Protest over 'Fag Propaganda,'" Body Politic, no. 68 (1980), p. 9 "Books Burn at Bishop's," Montreal Gazette, final ed., 18 September 1980, p. 77 "Book-burning at Bishop's," Varsity (Univ. of Toronto), 24 September 1980, p. 12 "Administration Quashed Student Handbook: Fears of Queers...," Argus (Lakehead Univ., Sudbury), 12 September 1980, p. 1

Graph Legend

Bishop's University

College

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