The club aimed to "change attitudes on homosexuality through legal reform, public education and individual counseling.
"[1] They wanted to tackle issues on campus, like "lack of information available in the library and classroom, hostile attitudes of the psychiatric clinic and discriminatory administration policies."
HOPS planned meeting activities included "speakers, movies, poetry readings, short plays, tapes, etc," as well as "dances and picnics".
[3] In the fall of 1970, one such student approached the university chaplain, who pointed him to a discussion group which had met the previous spring.
Vice president for student affairs, Raymond O. Murphy, stated that they wanted to look into the "legalities of this type of organization on a state-related campus."
[9] In February, students of Penn State filed a civil action against the university in Common Pleas Court of Centre County for revoking the charter.
The group condemned the revoking of the charter, stating that it "blatantly violated civil liberties of all Pennsylvanians, especially of students and faculty at University Park.
[13] The issue was widely covered in various papers, including campus publications like the Daily Collegian and those belonging to wider areas like The Pennsylvania Mirror.