Senior’s Thesis Critiques BGLTSA

Laure E. “Voop” de Vulpilliere ’02 presented her thesis analyzing the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgendered Supporters Alliance (BGLTSA) to an interested but hushed response from the group’s members Thursday.

Vulpilliere’s thesis is largely critical of BGLTSA—she argues that BGLTSA does not measure up to similar groups on nearby campuses.

Some of the BGLTSA board members present at last week’s meeting took notes throughout Vulpilliere’s presentation, but few asked questions or responded to the criticism.

“It must have been hard for them to hear me say, ‘you make so many mistakes,’ but they took it well,” said Vulpilliere.

Vulpilliere, secretary of Girlspot and a prominent member of BGLTSA, researched BGLTSA’s organizational structure and ability to create community on campus, comparing Harvard’s group with other BGLT groups at Brandeis and Northeastern.

Vulpilliere’s thesis included concrete suggestions, like a change in the timing of the group’s elections and an increase in the number of community meetings.

“The problem is that the board is disconnected from its constituency,” she said, adding that her intent was to give the board feedback as a constituent.

Handing out detailed flowcharts explaining the role of the BGLTSA board members, Vulpilliere said the group should set definite goals and vary the theme of each meeting. For example, she suggested members could play games like “Gay Jeopardy.”

But Vulpilliere said she was disappointed that only half of BGLTSA’s board members attended the meeting and concerned the low attendance would make it more difficult to implement her suggestions.

“They won’t understand the changes,” she said. “The board will be fighting amongst themselves when they discuss my suggestions.”

Michael B. Murphy ’03, a social chair at BGLTSA wrote in an e-mail that the criticism in Vulpilliere’s thesis was “entirely constructive” and the board was lucky to have her studying the organization.

“The board is pretty dedicated to not letting the issues that were discussed at the presentation be swept away or forgotten,” said Murphy.

BGLTSA also reopened its resource center Friday after a three-week renovation to spiff up its Holworthy basement location.

Students said the revamped office, which sported freshly painted walls and new couches, will continue to offer access to books on queer issues.

The center also has a computer with internet access.

Daniel R. Tremitiere ’02-’03, co-chair of BGLTSA, said internet access would be helpful for students who did not want their roommates to see them accessing queer websites.

Tremitiere said the resource center provides a space for students to come in and “talk about sexuality and express themselves in any way.”

“It’s important to have some queer space on campus,” he said.

And Vulpilliere, the group’s strongest internal critical voice, said she agreed the board had done an “amazing job” revamping the center.

—Staff writer Ravi P. Agrawal can be reached at agrawal@fas.harvard.edu.