Just us, and not only them

Last Friday, we piloted a new gay history tour of the University of Calgary campus. Thanks to Professor Nancy Janovicek, who invited us to do the tour for her History Studies 300 class (and posted the below photos to Twitter). Although we salaciously began the tour in the infamous men’s cruising washroom from campus’ early days, we ended the tour in the newly designed Q Centre, a resource hub for the University’s LGBTQA population.

Kevin Allen in the infamous bathroom

Nolan Hill at the Q Centre

Nolan Hill, a U of C History student, who volunteers for the Calgary Gay History Project, concluded the walk with a Q Centre orientation. In addition, he is preparing for his own queer history presentation next week about CJSW.

Here is his pitch:

“CJSW 90.9 FM has been a beacon of alternative, independent and radical voices on Calgary airwaves for over 40 years. In the past 20 or so years, you might have heard the classic “First Dyke on Dynasty”, segments on lesbian life, features on butt plugs, and an hour of “Just us, and not always them”. Do you remember these?

Whether you do or you don’t, come to the Q Centre at the University of Calgary (MacEwan Student Centre 210) on Tuesday December 9th from 12-1 for a lunch and learn presentation. The presentation will be all about the history of LGBTQ programming at CJSW, led by Nolan Hill. Nolan will be giving an overview of some of his research on the topic. Be sure to check it out, and learn more about gay history on the airwaves of Calgary.”

{KA & NH}