Queer
Resources at Mount Holyoke College
& in the Five College Area
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The Five College community in western Massachusetts consists of Mount Holyoke College, Amherst College, Hampshire College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Students at each of the schools can access the abundant facilities and resources of all participating institutions. Students can also join in Five College student organizations and attend lectures, parties, and other cultural and social events taking place in this community of more than 30,000 students. Free buses run frequently between the five campuses, located within a 12-mile radius of one another.
A rich assortment of organizations caters to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer, questioning, and allied (LGBTQQA) communities at the colleges, and in the community at large. This is not a comprehensive list, but it should be useful to you in finding queer-friendly places and resources at Mount Holyoke, and in the Five College area.
Mount Holyoke College does not discriminate in its educational and employment policies on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, handicap or disability, or veteran/uniformed services status. |
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True Colors is a student organization at Mount Holyoke College providing support, activism, outreach, and social functions for the lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and straight ally population at both Mount Holyoke and in the greater community.
Website: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/org/colors/
Contact: owner-true-colors-l@mtholyoke.edu
Jeannette Marks House provides a safe space and community center for lesbian,
bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and allied students at Mount Holyoke.
Located at 5 Faculty Lane, the space is used by members of the community for
meetings, events, and a resource library.
Website: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/org/colors/house.html
Contact: owner-marks-house-a@mtholyoke.edu
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SYSTA is a confidential support group at Mount Holyoke College for lesbian, bisexual, and questioning women of color. SYSTA's purpose is to create a welcoming space that both supports and provides resources for its members.
Contact: owner-systa-l@mtholyoke.edu
Qeshet (Rainbow) is the Five College GLBTQQA group for queer and questioning Jews.
Contact: smoser@external.umass.edu
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Mount Holyoke Lyon's Pride is the queer alumnae/i network at Mount Holyoke. They also welcome faculty, staff, students and partners of members as associate members. Email lists, a membership directory, a calendar of events, and much more is accessible on the website.
Website: http://www.mhlp.org
Contact: president@mhlp.org
PFLAG promotes the health and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons, their families and friends through: support, to come with an adverse society; education, to enlighten an ill-informed public; and advocacy, to end discrimination and to secure equal civil rights. Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays provides an opportunity for dialogue about sexual orientation and gender identity, and acts to create a society that is healthy and respectful of human diversity.
Website: http://www.pflag.org
Contact: info@pflag.org
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LGBT Staff/Faculty "List" is a loose affiliation of Mount Holyoke College staff and faculty members that keep in contact via email. It is predominately a social network.
Contact: kpepe@mtholyoke.edu
LGBTQQA Ad hoc Committee is a team of Mount Holyoke College staff and faculty representatives of most departments on campus organized to establish and strengthen a staff outreach / mentoring / advocacy presence on our campus to institutionally support the LGBTQQA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, and Allied) student, staff and faculty community of Mount Holyoke College.
Contact: kbergbom@mtholyoke.edu
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The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center Project
of Western Massachusetts, Inc. maintains a comprehensive website of
announcements, a calendar, a newsletter, and a bulletin board. The local resource listings are superb!
Website: http://www.queerhamp.org/
The Stonewall Center at UMass has a great email listserve called QueerE, which gives weekly updates on events, calls to action, roommates, jobs, and other queer info. And their Speakers Bureau offers trained presenters for panels and discussions on LGBT issues.
Website: http://www.umass.edu/stonewall
QueerE sign-up page: http://www.umass.edu/stonewall/eventsservices/queere/
Speakers Bureau: http://www.umass.edu/stonewall/eventsservices/speakersbureau/speakers_bureau.html
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Trans Activist Network is a network of individuals and groups in Western Massachusetts working together for the purpose of outreach, activism and education. TAN welcomes everyone who would like to participate in breaking down gender barriers. This includes transgender individuals along with their allies, partners, family, friends and anyone sympathetic to the pursuit of greater gender freedom.
Website: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transactivists/
East Coast FtM Group is a free, peer support group since 1992 for all female-to-male transgenders, transsexuals, cross-dressers, gender-queer, dual gendered,
genderblended, questioning, and their significant others. They meet the 2nd Sunday of every month from 3:00 to 6:00pm in Northampton.
Contact: betpower@yahoo.com
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UniTy of the Pioneer Valley is open to people who identify as transgendered, as well as their allies, friends, significant others and family members. UniTy meets every 2nd and 4th Thursday at Baystate Medical Center Springfield, MA. Social hour begins at 6:30 and the
meeting runs from 7:30 to 9:00 pm.
Website: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unity-of-the-pioneer-valley/
Phone: (413) 736-4773 or (413)731-7455
Trans Support Group is open to all people ages 15-24 who would like to talk about or are questioning their gender. It meets the second Wednesday at Pride Zone in Northampton from 6:30-8:30 pm.
Contact: Mitch, (413)586-8517
The Sunshine Club is a social, support, and educational group for
members of the transgendered community, significant others, and allies.
Website: http://www.thesunshineclub.org/SCAbout.html
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Divas Nightclub has 18+ nights Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and possibly Sunday. Wednesdays are popular for their drag shows; Thursdays are 80s nights, and Tuesdays are goth nights. On Sundays, they show Queer as Folk and The L-Word.
Website: http://www.divasofnoho.com/
492 North Pleasant St
Northampton, MA 01060
(413)586-8161
Haymarket Cafe, located on Main St in Northampton, is a great vegetarian/vegan place to hang and eat. It attracts a very gay-friendly clientele.
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All of the Mount Holyoke College campus offices are regarded as "SAFE ZONES" for addressing concerns specific to the LGBTQQA community. The following may be especially helpful resources:
Counseling Services x2037
Career Development x2080
Ombudsman x2413
Health Services x2466 (Devon Kelting specializes in queer issues)
Public Safety x2304
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| Illustrations by Abigail G. Burns '04 |
Go to the Members' Area  or
the Officers' Area 
Last updated
March 05, 2006
by Margo Burns (webmaster @ mhlp.org), Mount Holyoke Lyon's Pride Webmaster
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