Regional History Project Oral Histories

Carter Wilson was interviewed on the afternoon of the 14th of March 2002, in his home in Aptos, California. He was a professor of community studies at UCSC from 1972 to 2002.

Wendy Chapkis was an undergraduate at UCSC from 1973 to 1977, a graduate student in sociology from 1985 to 1995, and lecturer in women's studies, politics and other departments. She was a co-founder of the Bulkhead Gallery, and is a queer activist and writer. Her book Beauty Secrets: Women and the Politics of Appearance was published by South End Press in 1986, and Live Sex Acts: Women Performing Erotic Labor by Routledge in 1997. She is currently a professor of women's studies at the University of Southern Maine.

Ekua Omosupe was interviewed on February 22, 2002 in Santa Cruz, California. She was a graduate student in literature at UCSC from 1985 to 1997, and received her Ph.D. in literature. She has been a faculty member in the English department at Cabrillo Community College since 1992. Ekua's poems and essays are published in various journals and anthologies. Her first book of poetry, Legacy, was published by Talking Circles Press.

On February 22, 2002 I interviewed Ziesel Saunders at her home in Santa Cruz, California. I had never met Ziesel, and I had only briefly corresponded with her by email and telephone. Given that I identify as a feminist, an activist, a Jew, and as queer or a dyke, I felt that Ziesel and I shared some basic characteristics. Yet because each of these identities is so broad and fluid, and there is a generation gap between Ziesel and me, I did not expect us to be extremely similar in our outlooks on the world either. While in many respects my premonition was correct, during the interview I was also struck by how many things have not changed.

William Shipley was interviewed on September 25, 2001 at his home in the Santa Cruz Mountains. At age eighty, he was the oldest person interviewed for the Out in the Redwoods project, and his experience of gay life extends back to the 1930s.

Shipley was a professor of linguistics at UCSC from 1966 to 1991. He was a student of Alfred Kroeber's at UC Berkeley and is well known for his pioneering work with the Mountain Maidu Indians of California.

While researching colleges in the Orange County Public Library, I stumbled across an essay detailing Nancy Stoller's impact on UC Santa Cruz. I was awestruck by the institutional changes resulting from her tenure lawsuit. After reading the essay, I knew that if UCSC was the changed campus the essay said it was, then UCSC was the campus for me. As my adviser, Nancy assisted in my journey through the community studies major and the writing of my thesis on queer youth in Dallas, Texas. Because of scheduling conflicts, I interviewed Nancy first on January 24, 2002, and again on May 15, 2002. The long break allowed careful consideration on both what to add and what to clarify in the next interview. Both interviews took place in her office at College Eight. For me, the interview shed new light onto someone who is not only a great professor, but also an amazing activist, and an innovator in the LGBTQ movement.--Jesse Silva

Jean-Marie Scott has been an administrator at UCSC since 1993. In 2000, Scott became the Associate Vice Chancellor for Housing, Dining and Child Care Services, making her the highest-ranking out lesbian administrator at UCSC. She was interviewed on August 30, 2002 in her office at UCSC

Gwendolyn Morgan came to UCSC as a re-entry student in 1989. She graduated in 1991 with a B.A. in classics. She then worked at campus housing, and afterwards was chosen as one of four multicultural outreach facilitators in affirmative action for one year, and then was appointed coordinator of the Diversity Education Program for staff until 2000. I first met Gwendolyn in the McHenry Library, where I was the women's studies/reference librarian. She and I became friends. We also worked together on many diversity events about women's issues and gay/lesbian issues when she was the coordinator of diversity education. I did this interview on January 5, 2002, at her home in Castro Valley, California, where she lives with her partner Gail, and their dog and bird.'Jacquelyn Marie

I chose to interview Dave Kirk primarily because I believed he possessed a wealth of information waiting to be unleashed, much like how I perceived my own grandfather. I was drawn to the Out in the Redwoods project in spite of my heterosexuality, because I felt, as a Latina woman, the repressed voice and struggles experienced by gay persons which I have witnessed firsthand. I wanted, as an undergraduate anthropology major, to contribute to the historical and present understandings of gays in the community, more specifically, my community at UCSC and in Santa Cruz. Having only lived in California for three years and migrating from the South, I strongly believe that the discursive and pervasive stereotypes surrounding gays are harmful to everyone in society. David has dedicated a large portion of his life to help counteract those stereotypes, and even now in his retirement he is a lifelong contributor supporting gay rights. Dave and I interviewed on the sunny Valentine's Day of 2002 in the parlor of his home warmed by a gas fireplace, and sliding glass doors allowing a peering into the outdoors. I remember the birds jubilantly chirping outside and an overwhelming sense of welcome and peace.

Deborah Abbott is a writer, health activist, teacher, river guide and current director of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center at UCSC. Since assuming her position in November of 1997, she has given new shape and direction to the Center. As an American studies major, I was eager to interview  Deb Abbott. Deb Abbott to learn more about the queer history of UCSC, as well as about her work within two local feminist health organizations: the Santa Cruz Women's Health Collective and WomenCARE (which she cofounded in 1992). I had read several of Ms. Abbott's essays on pursuing her passion for river rafting, despite her physical disability, and these had deeply resonated with me, as I had been struggling to reconcile my own physical health problems with my dreams for the future. We met at the GLBT Center on the rainy afternoon of February 7, 2002. The Center hums with the richness of the many hours of mental and physical labor'by student volunteers and paid staff'that have gone into creating a place where all gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer-identified people and their allies can take refuge. UCSC's reputation for being one of the most 'queer-friendly' campuses in the U.S. is easily understood when one enters the Center. Colorful posters brighten the walls, along with flyers announcing upcoming queer events and numerous lists to get involved with the many, diverse, queer-related groups on campus. An exhibit on GLBT African Americans hangs in the gallery. The enticing library of books and films, and the inviting couches that look out into the redwoods all serve to foster an atmosphere of welcome, creativity, and dynamic engagement.'