Project Statement
This project explores the life-stories of Antioch College alumni who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community, especially their experiences as an attending student on Antioch’s campus, as well as their time on co-op.
The interview process is designed to gather as much or as little information as the participant wishes to share, and the questions are open-ended so as to allow the participants to include what they find to be pertinent. could be useful for future research.
Questions guiding my focus included: How does attending a college with a (radically) progressive culture affect LGBTQ+ individuals and their understandings of their own sexualities and genders? How does this affect their lives beyond graduation? Are there pitfalls which could be avoided that may help improve the experiences of future LGBTQ+ students?
I am honored to have this opportunity to help contribute to the broad pursuit of documenting LGBTQ+ history. Antioch’s progressive culture is one reason why I decided to apply, and part of why I’ve ultimately spent my entire undergraduate studies here.
All participants have the right to end their participation at any time during or after the interview, and may request to have their interview content removed from the repository and deleted, in part or in full.
Guiding Questions
The core guiding questions used in each interview included:
1. Antioch College has a reputation for having one of the most radically progressive
campus-cultures in the country. Would you agree with this reputation, and what was it
like arriving as a new student?
2. How do you think this culture affected you during your time attending the college, and
your life beyond? Did it affect your understanding of your own gender and sexuality?
Please include your co-op experiences when thinking about this question.
3. Since graduation, have you built a family and/or career? If so, do you relate these
aspects of your life to your time at Antioch in any way(s)?
4. Are there any ways in which you think your life would be different, had you gone to a
more typical liberal arts college?
5. Is there any message that you would give to the current and future students of Antioch,
if you could? Any message for the current and future LGBTQ+ youth in general?
