When I say that these students created "archival materials," I use the phrase loosely. Because Wilson Library houses the oral histories created by the SOHP, these materials are archival. However, some of the students did help the University Archives ingest materials via connections they made during their oral histories. An intern of the Fall Semester interviewed a professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health who had been active in the Human Sexuality Information Counseling Service during his time as a graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Once he was aware of the need for documentation on the history of student activism, the professor gladly transferred materials to the University Archives.
These interns did not just create oral histories. They filled a gap in the paper record. They helped their interviewees feel recognized for their part in a movement, even if that part was to simply live their lives. The interns learned a great deal not only about the history of LGBTQ activism at UNC and beyond but also about themselves.
This semester's interns performed their oral histories today with a poignancy that moved several people to tears. What moved me almost as much as the stories they told (about coming out, about AIDS, about life) was the dedication they had exhibited throughout the semester. I am proud to have facilitated their research in some small part. Today's performance reminded me of why I love being an archivist. I want to enable the work and passions of others. I was happy today to have enabled such a meaningful passion and a contribution to the record of the LGBTQ movement in the South.