The A-T and the Sexual Revolution

A-T writer Mark Hansmann used the classified section to find interviewees for his upcoming article on homosexuality. 1972

In evidence of the changing mores of sexuality, the A-T, in the late 1960s, began to publish articles on issues like homosexuality, interracial relationships, masturbation, and unwed motherhood. The classified ad section facilitated conversations among students and community members interested in sexual relationships. The Fox Valley Gay Alliance (FVGA) consistently ran their contact information in the A-T classified ads section in order to promote its social and advocacy organization among the school’s largely closeted gay community.

This A-T classified section features contact information for the FVGA and the student run abortion referral service. 1973

The A-T, like many student newspapers, played a key role in social movements during the 1960s and 1970s. While this article gave voice to the women’s liberation movement, the sexualized “Liberated Woman” angered feminists. Illustrations, comic strips, and keen investigative senses separated this generation of A-T staffers from the newspaper’s previous conservatism.

The women's liberation movement and the exploitation of women were subjects that A-T staffers and students reflected on throughout the 1970s.

This A-T article about The Shape Ship massage parlor in downtown Oshkosh reflects the newspaper's investigative nature. 1973

A-T comic strips like “Mindshaft,” by student Bob Fuller, added to the newspaper’s growing radicalism. 1970