Girls Spot, a forum for women, was formed last spring in response to the overwhelmingly male membership of the BGLSA.

"The all female environment is important [even though] there are a lot of women at the BGLSA," says Jennifer T. Tattenbaum '98, a former co-chair of Girls Spot.

Girls Spot is focused on providing emotional support rather than championing political causes, say Tattenbaum and co-chair Diana L. Adair '98.

"The BGLSA is more politically oriented and not so focussed on discussion of the issues," says Tattenbaum. "Political stuff is important, but our purpose is more as a social forum."

"The main purpose of Girls Spot is to provide a community for women on campus, straight women as well," Tattenbaum adds.

Although Girls Spot was formed with the concerns of gay women in mind, it has several straight members, who contribute meaningfully to the group's weekly meetings, Tattenbaum says.

In the meetings, discussion topics range from safe sex to current literature.

Role of Gay Alumni

Although the gay alumni community cannot provide extensive support to its students because it tends to be comprised only of younger people, it still plays an important role in providing resources to undergraduates.

The Harvard Gay and Lesbian Caucus has been active for more than decade and is made up of both gay and straight alumni, according to co-chair Diane E. Hamer, who works at the Schlesinger Library.

Like the BGLSA, the caucus has worked to foster greater inclusion of gays into the College community through political means.

It has helped rewrite the Harvard Statement on Non-Discriminations to include lesbians, gays and bisexuals, helped to organize protests and sponsored events aimed at fostering awareness of gay issues.

"We support students with Open Gate grants, a gay and lesbian studies caucus and a lecture or two a year" says Hamer.

Hamer says the scope of the caucus programs are large enough to appeal to a wide range of people.

"We usually sponsor two literary and two scholarly events a year, including a dinner during commencement week," says Hamer.