Renovated BGLTQ Office to Open in October

A renovated space for the Office of BGLTQ Student Life in the basement of Grays Hall—featuring a kitchen, lounge, and library—will open by mid-October, according to College spokesperson Rachael Dane.

Construction on the space, which will be shared with the College’s Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, will begin in June. Staffers at the office say they hope to use the new site to better welcome and host all undergraduates.

BGLTQ Student Life Director Sheehan D. Scarborough ’07 called construction of the new office a “really wonderful moment for Harvard College.” He said he hopes to host College-wide social events in the Harvard Yard space once construction is finished.

“[The College has] invested so much in this space, and now we get to be the ones to use it and make it the best that it can possibly be,” Scarborough said, adding that his office and the Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion are “going to make great neighbors.”

Others said they are excited that the BGLTQ office will be located at a more central spot on campus, closer to its former location in the basement of Boylston Hall. The office is currently housed at 7 Linden St., along with the College’s Bureau of Study Counsel.

“One of the things that was nice about the location prior to Linden St., the location that was in Boylston, was that it was a little bit more informal,” said Lispeth J. Tibbits-Nutt, a specialty BGLTQ freshman proctor. “Students were more likely to just stop by and hang out.”

Patric C. W. Verrone ’18, an intern at the Office of BGLTQ Student Life, also said he hopes the Grays location will be more convenient for students.

“I think that the space we are at now, while we like it and enjoy being in that space at 7 Linden St., it’s not really accessible,” he said.

Verrone added that the thinks the new space is at “the historical and ideological center of campus.”

In a speech last month celebrating the office’s fifth anniversary at Harvard, Scarborough again voiced excitement about the new location, and said he sees the move as an opportunity to welcome all students, regardless of their identities.

“There’s a lot to look forward to,” he said.

—Staff writer Margot D. Dionne can be reached at margot.dionne@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargotDionne.