In 1966, the first gay student organization in U.S. history was founded at Columbia University. When the founder, Robert Martin, ’70CC, under the pseudonym of Stephen Donaldson began the group, there were only a few courageous members. Thanks to those students, the organization grew, flourished, and inspired students at other universities to form their own clubs. Now, more than fifty years later, Columbia is proud to have multiple LGBTQ+ student groups. To kick off Pride Month, here are some of the groups for our LGBTQ+ community and their allies.
Columbia Queer Alliance (CQA)
“Columbia Queer Alliance (CQA) is the oldest queer collegiate student organization in the nation. Founded in 1967 by means of radical protests and organizing, CQA has resisted with and organized on behalf of queer and trans students and their allies. Fundamental to its mission, CQA recognizes the inherent ties between queer liberation and racial, socioeconomic, immigration, and dis/ability justice, while fostering a cohesive, unified queer and trans community at Columbia University.”
Facebook | Instagram | Linktree
Columbia Pride
“Columbia Pride’s mission is to build community among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) and allied alumni of all schools of Columbia University in the City of New York, to foster a safe environment for Columbia’s LGBTQ students, to strengthen the LGBTQ student community, and to deepen the sense of connection between the LGBTQ alumni and student communities, and between these communities and Alma Mater.
GendeRevolution
“The trans & nonbinary support/advocacy group of Columbia & Barnard aiming to create safe spaces & advocate for trans and nonbinary people on campus.”
Queer & Asian (Q&A)
“We strive to support and empower queer and trans Asian students, domestic and international, while collaborating with queer organizations on campus to create a safe space for queer students and queer students of color in particular.”
Facebook | qanda [[dot]] columbia [[at]] gmail [[dot]] com (Email)
qSTEM
“qSTEM was founded in the Spring of 2016 through EGSC (Engineering Graduate Student Council) with the mission of fostering a community of LGBTQ+ students pursuing STEM fields at Columbia University. Our club hopes to provide queer students and allies with social, professional, and educational resources and to improve their university experience by making Columbia University a more understanding, inclusive, and respectful place.”
QFaith
“Building an inclusive space for all faiths and identities”
JQ
“JQ is the Jewish gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and ally group at Columbia and Barnard. We are the first faith-based queer group on campus. JQ works to foster awareness of LGBTQ issues in the greater Jewish community and create a safe space for LGBTQ Jewish students on campus. We offer cultural, religious, and social programming throughout the year.”
Facebook | JQ [[at]] hillel [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu (Email) | Website
Graduate School Student Groups
The majority of other graduate schools of Columbia University offer LGBTQ-related student clubs and programming. Many of the groups and their events are open to students from other colleges, including the undergraduate schools.
Learn more about Columbia LGBTQ+ student groups.
