The Office of BGLTQ Student Life opened registration last week for QuNNECT, a peer-to-peer program that aims to foster friendships among BGLTQ-identified students who might not be otherwise involved in Harvard’s queer student groups.
The initiative was organized over the course of a year by Joshua D. Blecher-Cohen ’16, who said he found the peer-mentorship structure of queer organizations on other campuses inspiring.
“It’s a different way for people who may not be able to make specific events or do regular things to connect in a low-key way with other people on their own time,” Blecher-Cohen said.
Blecher-Cohen, who is an intern at the Office of BGLTQ Student Life, said there are few opportunities for queer students to connect if they do not have time to commit to a BGLTQ student organization or attend related events. Blecher-Cohen described QuNNECT as a program to bridge the gap.
Registration for the program has been open for a week, with Monday night marking the final day to sign up. Blecher-Cohen said that as of Monday evening, more than 50 students had registered.
Neimy K. Escobar ’15, who registered for QuNNECT, wrote in an email that she wants to meet new people through the program who may feel marginalized by or not included in queer life. She also wrote that she hopes QuNNECT will reframe queer student life on campus as focused on the wide variety of queer students, rather than being limited to queer student organizations.
After registration closes, Blecher-Cohen will make one-on-one matches based on common interests and motivation for participation in QuNNECT. The expectation is that the peers will meet in a casual setting at least three times throughout the semester to get to know each other and make new connections.
Sasanka N. Jinadasa ’15, who registered for QuNNECT and is also an intern at the Office of BGLTQ Student Life, expressed her excitement for the program.
“We need more peer-to-peer mentorship on campus. Particularly in this community, just because our interests are so dispersed and we don’t all hang out in the same circles and spaces,” Jinadasa said. “It’s hard to be able to connect with people who don’t come to the [Office of BGLTQ Student Life] so much, or who don’t hang out in certain queer organizations.”
Blecher-Cohen and Jinadasa said the definition of queer in the context of QuNNECT includes the entire BGLTQ community. Blecher-Cohen further said he hopes QuNNECT will build community across different identities as well.
“If you are gay, you may end up meeting someone who is not gay, but identifies within the queer spectrum. So that’s a way to get exposed to all kinds of different people,” he said.
The Office of BGLTQ Student Life offers programming for queer students on campus. Blecher-Cohen said he hopes QuNNECT will become an established feature of BGLTQ student life so that more students can have access to support from the queer community at Harvard in the future.
—Staff writer Jessica Kim can be reached at jessica.kim@thecrimson.com.
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