{"id":80,"date":"2023-01-16T12:19:41","date_gmt":"2023-01-16T17:19:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/soc16-ws23\/?page_id=80"},"modified":"2023-01-25T10:35:25","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T15:35:25","slug":"john-atteridg-76-1954-2001","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/soc16-ws23\/john-atteridg-76-1954-2001\/","title":{"rendered":"John Atteridg \u201976 (1954-2001)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\""Homosexuality<\/a>

Cover of the New York Times Magazine\u2019s March 12, 1978 issue. In \u201cMiscellaneous Images,\u201d Queer Student Union Collection. MC 109.1, Box 2. Williams College Archives and Special Collections.<\/p><\/div>\n

John Atteridg \u201976 (1954 \u2013 2001) <\/b>was the only openly gay student on campus in 1976 and played a significant role in founding the Williams Gay Student Organization (WGSO). During his senior spring, he acted as a defender of the WGSO in public discourse on the validity of homosexuality through letters to the Record. In doing so, he gave a voice to queer students at Williams. \"The<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Poem<\/a>

WGSO\u2019s first publication, released Spring 1976; the issue features a poem written by Atteridg. In \u201cJohn W. Atteridg,\u201d Queer Student Union Collection. MC 109.1, Box 2. Williams College Archives and Special Collections.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Letter<\/a>

This letter to the editor, published in the Record by Atteridg on behalf of WGSO, defends gay rights discourse on campus in response to public ridicule of a previous, similar letter. In \u201cJohn W. Atteridg,\u201d Queer Student Union Collection. MC 109.1, Box 2. Williams College Archives and Special Collections.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"John<\/a>

Atteridg struggles with his feelings for his straight best friend, Jon Burbank, and also discusses the larger issues with platonic friendships he faces as a closeted individual in a heteronormative society. In \u201cJohn W. Atteridg,\u201d Queer Student Union Collection. MC 109.1, Box 2. Williams College Archives and Special Collections.<\/p><\/div>\n

In 1994, he donated a copy of his journal to the college. The handwritten manuscript reveals his inner struggles with sexuality and relationships with his straight peers, culminating in his<\/span><\/p>\n

coming out at the end of the journal. In 2001, Atteridg passed away due to complications from HIV; email correspondence between his former professors, relatives, and other queer alumni memorializes him as a valued Williams community member. The documents in this exhibit provide glimpses into the queer college experience at many levels, ranging from personal to campuswide to national.<\/span><\/p>\n

-Charlotte Hassenforder, Katherine Yang, Hannah Yoon<\/span><\/p>\n



<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John Atteridg \u201976 (1954 \u2013 2001) was the only openly gay student on campus in 1976 and played a significant role in founding the Williams Gay Student Organization (WGSO). During his senior spring, he acted as a defender of the …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":190,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-80","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/soc16-ws23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/80","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/soc16-ws23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/soc16-ws23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/soc16-ws23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/190"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/soc16-ws23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/soc16-ws23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/80\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":125,"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/soc16-ws23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/80\/revisions\/125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/soc16-ws23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}