"I'm blocking out the nipples for coy Americans," said Huang, drawing over them with black, felt-tipped marker.

In contrast to last fall, where the organization didn't exercise any control over the material displayed in its name, this year posters will require approval. And Hill says Huang's poster will likely not make the cut, even with the modifications.

Looking Back and Ahead

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Augustine says when he encountered an incident of homophobia, the BGLTSA was there to help him--tell him his options, and recommend a course of action.

Although he says the group is "not a high priority" for him, and feels it does not represent all gay students at Harvard, he says more important things are at stake.

"Whether they are representing me, and my white, gay, ex-catholic, theater self, is not as important as the fact that they're there," he says. "This is an organization that can mobilize to support students on campus."

In the early 1980s, BGLTSA's activism was largely directed towards convincing a recalcitrant college administration to add sexual orientation to Harvard's non-discrimination policy.

"It took a lot of persistence," says Paul F. Perkovic '71. "Sometimes you bang your head against a wall long enough, and all of a sudden someone makes your change in the next version of a publication, and next thing you know it's policy."