"If anything, they should be more political. BGLTSA serves a very specific and very important need," Tattenbaum says.

Though BGLTSA tries to address the needs of the entire gay community, this broad mission sometimes excludes other minorities.

While Alex S. Myers '00, a transgendered student, enjoyed BGLTSA meeting and the people he met there, he no longer participates.

"There are a lot of people interested in activism, but not necessarily activism for trangenders," Myers says. He is the chair of the Transgender Task Force, but says, he can do little since there are few people share the labor.

But Myers says the BGLTSA helped him in his first year at Harvard by revealing a supportive, connected gay community.

Sofen say the BGLTSA can strike a balance, by addressing some political questions and leaving more sensitive and support topics to member organizations.

"[Members] can range [on one hand] from someone who is just out of the closet...[to] someone who is very out and confident with being out and confident with being out and wants to see us pursue a more progressive agenda," Sofen says.

The Gay-Straight Agenda

Sofen says gays at Harvard have attained many of their most obvious goals, making it difficult to determine the next step. He cites several recent successes, including the change in Memorial Church's same-sex commitment policy and the appointment of Lowell House's new lesbian masters, as well as the University's inclusion of sexual orientation in its non-discrimination clause.

Sofen seeks to define a new set of goals for the organization he will soon chair.

In a recent opinion piece for The Crimson, Sofen outlined the "gay-straight agenda" which outlined reasons as to why heterosexuals should be interested in supporting gay rights.

"Just as white people were a crucial part of the civil rights struggle of African Americans, just as men stood beside women to seek equality of the sexes, straight people are an integral part of the fight for gay rights," Sofen wrote.

Sofen's argument cited several issues--gender-blind shuttle service, junior faculty, transgenderism and closeted students--that he feels are important to both the gay and straight communities at Harvard.

"It's a personal priority for me," Sofen says. "In the long run, we will not achieve gay rights in America without the straight community."

Still, Sofen says the current board will not change their views or activities to accommodate a new membership.