Gay Students Organize Umbrella Group

Gay leaders at Harvard put together an umbrella organization of gay, lesbian and bisexual organizations from around the University earlier this month.

The Harvard Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Council has representatives from ten campus organizations and includes undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, staff and alumni. The council's founder, Mark Vosvick, said it currently has about 400 members.

The council is intended to help bring together the formerly "fragmented" gay community, Vosvick said.

Vosvick, a student at the Graduate School of Education, said he was "aghast" at the lack of cohesion he saw among Harvard's gay and lesbian organizations last year.

"There was a need there. I saw it, and we all met it," he said.

Vosvick said he was "enheartened" by how quickly the new council came together and by how well-attended its bi-weekly meetings have been.

Focusing on ROTC

Council members are currently focusing on the question of the University's connection with the Reserve Officers Training Corp (ROTC), which does not admit gay and lesbian students. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences will decide this spring whether to enforce an ultimatum it issued two years ago, threatening to sever ties with ROTC if the program did not make progress towards changing its policy.

Working Together

"We are working in concert with other groups on campus," said Diane E. Hamer, a member of the group and a Schlesinger Library staff member. "We are debating steps to take in addressing the University [on the ROTC issue]."

The council is especially committed to reinforcement of the University's anti-discrimination policies, Vosvick said. He said he believes that all employers, including ROTC, should have to sign a non-bias pledge before recruiting at Harvard.

Another part of the council's mission is to educate and to inform the University community as a whole about gay issues and concerns, said Vosvick.

"Our aims are basically to provide a structure to allow gay and lesbian lifestyles to be made visible to the whole community," he said.

Social Group

The council is also intended to serve as a social group, he said. Its member organizations will inform others when dances, parties and gatherings are being held, providing what Vosvick calls a "non-bar, non-club environment" for interested members.