McNair Scholar 2022 Sarah Etheridge
Sarah Etheridge is a senior at the University of Minnesota Twin-Cities majoring in Youth Studies. Their research interests revolve around prison abolition and rehabilitation of young people in the legal system. Sarah plans on attending Law School to receive their J.D. with a focused lens on juvenile justice.
My dream is to put more good in the world than I take from it, keeping community and advocacy close to my heart.
Research project
Before Stonewall: F.R.E.E. and Queer Activism at the University of Minnesota, A Historic Analysis 1969-1971
Abstract: Before the riots in Stonewall garnered national attention to the plight of queer revolution, an organization was planting its roots in the midwest that would capture national attention and set legal precedents for years to come. Fight Repression of Erotic Expression (F.R.E.E.), a student organization at the University of Minnesota, increased educational awareness of queer liberation through community engagement, organizing social LGBTQIA+ events and protesting inequitable state legislature. At the forefront of the activism, co-founders Jack Baker and Michael McConnell secured their own legacies as the first same-sex couple to be married in the United States. Focusing on the organizational structure, key players, the role of counter forces that contributed to FREE’s demise, this presentation and paper analyzes F.R.E.E.’s founding in 1969 to its disbandment in 1971, utilizing documents held at the Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Archival Collection at the University of Minnesota Twin-Cities.
Faculty mentor
Katie Johnston-Goodstar is currently an Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Johnston-Goodstar attended the University of Washington at Seattle where they received their PhD in Social Welfare. Dr. Johnston-Goodstar’s research utilizes a decolonization lens, focusing on youth studies, youth and social work, and participatory and action research. They are currently investigating the role of relationship between place and young, indegenous person and how they reclaim spaces. Dr. Johnston-Goodstar has authored many publications, presented nationwide and has received many accolades for their work with young people.