Crimson staff writer

Yasmeen A. Khan

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Out/Laws: Student Advocacy for LGBTQ+ Rights at Harvard Law

Since its inception, COGLI has served as a center for LGBTQ+ advocacy at the Law School. The organization has spearheaded policies ranging from banning military recruitment on campus to including sexual orientation in Harvard’s non-discrimination policy. Moreover, the very existence of this group gave visibility to LGBTQ+ students at the school, allowing them to challenge homophobic stereotypes and bring LGBTQ+ life to light.


Ben Schatz

Ben Schatz photographed in the Harvard Law Record in 1983 hanging up posters on behalf of COGLLI (a renaming of COGLI) for an upcoming gay and visibility week. The caption reads “Ben Schatz, 1L, raising consciousness.” Courtesy of Harvard Library.


HLR vol 71

Harvard Law Record, vol. 71 no. 4 (October 17, 1980), p.13. 1978 also marked the year GLAD—Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders was founded, a group that COGLI worked with. Courtesy of Harvard Law School Library, Historical & Special Collections.


Outlaw Poster 5

Poster advertising “Outlaw,” Lambda’s annual gay and lesbian dance. The tradition started in 1993, the year that Lambda became the organization’s new name. Courtesy of Harvard Law School Library, Historical & Special Collections.


Bowers v. Hardwick

An advertisement for a Lambda-sponsored event reflecting on Bowers vs. Hardwick ten years later. Courtesy of Harvard Law School Library, Historical & Special Collections.


COGLI 1981

COGLLI’s 1981 yearbook photo, taken three years after the organization was founded. The caption reads: “We chose to appear in this photograph, after careful consideration of the possible personal and professional ramifications, to give expression to the efforts of those who fight unjust discrimination on all fronts, especially with regard to the right to love. While many of COGLLI’s members, friends, and supporters are not pictured, it is their continued and ever increasing support and understanding that enabled this group to appear in the Yearbook for the first time. Courtesy of Harvard Law School Library, Historical & Special Collections.


Military Ban Poster

An advertisement for a panel hosted by COGBLLI (renamed Lambda later that year) to discuss bans on homosexuality in the US military. Courtesy of Harvard Law School Library, Historical & Special Collections.


Outlaws COGLI

Poster advertising “Outlaw,” Lambda’s annual gay and lesbian dance. The tradition started in 1993, the year that Lambda became the organization’s new name. Courtesy of Harvard Law School Library, Historical & Special Collections.