A Queer Compass of Champaign-Urbana

Abstract

This research looks at the creation and navigation of queer spaces in Champaign-Urbana, and more specifically at the University of Illinois. By using newspapers, photos, maps, and other archival documents, the paper narrates how a queer compass of the University has changed, specifically comparing Champaign and Urbana. Another tool used in this paper are the voices of current (2015) queer students at the University, voicing their concerns, experiences, and opinions about campus spaces created by the University and their friends, and how some of them have reacted to these spaces by creating their own. The goal of this paper is to expose the ways in which the University creates space for queer students, how they have created their own space, and the differences between Champaign and Urbana as sites of queer experience.