Jordyn Fitzgerald
When searching around the Wayne County community for LGBTQ related artifacts, I stumbled upon the Teetor House, which is a house run by Earlham College for the surrounding community to have a safe place. The Teetor House has been around for multiple years, and offers many services when living and in it and visiting it. Inside the house, they offer a coming out support group, movies, potlucks, open houses, and other LGBTQ related events to provide support for the surrounding community.
The Teetor House is located in Richmond, Indiana near Earlham College. It is student run, but not only limited to Earlham students. The purpose of the house is to provide support for the Richmond LGBTQ community, mostly college – aged based. In Richmond, there are not a lot of support groups and services for the LGBTQ community, so this is a great safe place for students to go and get support. Within the house, you hear so many stories from others and gain a lot of knowledge on what others have gone through, and what they continue to go through. This house is an ideal part of the LGBTQ community mainly because everyone there is supporting one another, without judgement, and it allows them to be “safe at home.”
When searching the internet and the community for LGBTQ related things for the archive, I wanted to find something that was different than a flyer or a news article. I wanted to find something that students could go to and make an experience within. Although it is not apart of IUE, it is still in the Richmond community, which I think is awesome. In the future, I want to attend this house and observe it from the inside and learn more about its history and the many lives it has impacted. The house is run by college students at Earlham through their LGBTQ alliance club.
The house tells a story within itself, like I stated earlier. The houses walls have heard so many stories from people coming out, their support, and their personal stories within attending college and living in Richmond. The identities the house includes are those of the LGBTQ community, so those who are lesbian, bisexual, gay, trans, and the queer communities. The house is not limited to people who are of those identities, but those who support or offer support for those identities. People who don’t approve or support these identities are not intended to attend or live here.
The Teetor house is one of Earlham’s many living options for student groups. The Teetor house is also known as the “Blue Shutter House.” Earlham provides many different houses based on cultures, identities, and interests. The Teetor House is Earlham’s Queer Cultural Center. The house itself offers limited housing for LGBTQ individuals and their allies in order to provide support and community education. The Teetor House has been a living and support option for Earlham students and alliances since 4 years ago. In 2019, they plan to revisit the house, making sure it is up to par with services for individuals seeking help or information in regards to the LGBTQ community.
The LGBTQ House is located at 322 College Avenue, near Earlham College. Every Tuesday at 9:15 pm is when the house holds their meetings. Donnie Smith is the main contact of the house, and anybody who is interested in going can get ahold of him at (drsmith07@earlham.edu). The Teetor house is all about providing support for the LGBTQ community of Richmond. Within the Teetor House, there is a group called Spectrum. This is a support group for the Richmond Community. As described on their community website, “Spectrum is a positive transgender, bisexual, gay, lesbian, transsexual, and ally collegiate community organization with the purpose of providing support, engendering community, and promoting activism at Earlham College as well as in Richmond, Indiana. Everyone is welcome to participate in Spectrum meetings and activities, and if you have special needs, contact the convenors and we will make accommodations.” The house is very welcoming to all of the community, and wants to provide their services to anyone who may need it.
The Teetor House was formed to help support the LGBTQ community at Earlham, but over the years it has expanded to more services for people outside of Earlham and within the Richmond and Wayne County community. The house is big enough to hold multiple people, so holding these support sessions and events isn’t a problem for the house and is one major benefit for the house. The Teetor House “flyer” on their website includes a picture of the house, and it’s name title in rainbow lettering, which is the ideal color scheme for anything LGBTQ. This draws the attention to the flyer and relates to the house itself. Also on the flyer, it includes what activities and events the house offers and how to contact the house if you want to attend. The flyer and the house itself is intended for those in the LGBTQ community.
When looking around the community to find more support groups and houses, this one is the most ideal for our age groups since it is run by college students themselves. Sometimes support groups can be intimidating with all ages, but the fact that it is run by people our age will allow more comfortability and acceptance. There are many colleges around Indiana that have living options such as this one for the LGBTQ students, but this is the only one around the Richmond area. Indiana University East does not offer a living option like this one, but we do not have dorms or typical “student housing” so the fact that this house is only 15 minutes away from campus can really help our students as well. I think the placement of the house is perfect, not only for Earlham students but for our IUE students as well. Including this house in our archive will allow IUE students and other people in the Richmond community to see a living option if they are to live with others and want to live within their diverse “culture.” Not only is this house a good living option if the application is approved, but it is a weekly gathering for those who need it and want to join or are already involved within the LGBTQ community of Richmond.
Relevant Earlham Student Organizations (as of 2022):
Black and Lavender: Black and Lavender serves as a safe space for students who identify as BIPOC & LGBTQIA+ in discussing the navigation of our identities, serving as advocates for LGBTQIA+ students of color, and promoting acceptance and safety for everyone.
Queer Athletes and Allies Collective (QAAC): QAAC serves as an education and advocacy group on marginalized romantic or sexual orientations and gender identities in sports. Our goal is to increase campus-wide awareness of LGBTQ+ issues in athletics. We invite any interested persons, regardless of sexual, romantic, and gender identity, to join group meetings, lectures, discussions, socials, etc. QAAC believes it is essential for every individual to fully express themselves and feel confident in all aspects of athletics, including sexual, romantic, and gender identity.
Spectrum: Spectrum serves as a support system for those with marginalized romantic or sexual orientations and gender identities. We also seek to increase campus awareness of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer-related issues. We invite any interested persons, regardless of sexual, romantic and gender identity, to join group meetings, movies, lectures, discussions and socials. Spectrum believes it is essential for every individual to fully express themselves and feel confident in all aspects, including sexual, romantic and gender identity.
