Newsletters of S.Y.O.L. (Save Your Own Life), 1988 - 2001

Series — Box: 5

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This series includes issues of the newsletter published by the gay rights group "Save Your Own Life" (S.Y.O.L.), a grassroots LGBTQ+ organization founded by Patrick McHugh, John Hollister, and Paul Staple. S.Y.O.L. operated in Binghamton, New York from 1988 until the early 2000s, when it transitioned into the Binghamton Area Rainbow Coalition (BARA), and then into the Binghamton Pride Coalition.

The newsletter, first published as "S.Y.O.L. Newsletter," was started as a "volunteer-published bulletin for gay people of the Greater Binghamton area as the house organ for S.Y.O.L., the newly formed group which is providing the forum for all gay people to use to help better our lives." The title was changed to "Ga Zette" (sometimes printed as "GaZette" or "Gazette") in August, 1989, and then to "Amethyst" in July/August, 1989. Subtitles varied, but included "A Newsletter for the Gay Southern Tier" (August, 1988 - June, 1989); "The Gay Paper" (July - September, 1991); "The Gay, Lesbian, and Bi Paper" (October, 1991 - August/September, 1997); "The Un-Heterosexual Paper" (October, 1997 - October, 1998); and "The paper for alternative lifestyles" (December, 1998/January, 1999 - June, 1999).

This represents a complete set of the newsletter, with two issues excepted: Volume 5, Issue 2 (February, 1992) and Volume 11, Issue 8 (November, 1998). If you have copies of these issues, please contact speccoll@binghamton.edu.

Dates

Creation: 1988 - 2001

Extent

From the Collection: 6 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Additional Description

Custodial History

The collection was given to Sean Massey, Associate Professor of Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies at Binghamton University by Robert Weslar, who was a member of S.Y.O.L. from 1990 to 1999. Sean and Bob met when they served together on the Binghamton City Council from 2008 to 2012. Mr. Weslar, first elected to the City Council in 2003, was the first openly gay invidiual to serve on the City Council. He had spoken with Sean Massey about his involvement with S.Y.O.L. and their early efforts to organize the gay community. When Sean began researching local LGBTQ+ history, Bob offered his personal collection of S.Y.O.L. newsletters with the understanding that they would be used to inform his research and then be donated to a library/archive where they would be made available to the general public.

Sean Massey donated the collection to the Binghamton University Libraries Special Collections in March, 2023.