Jackson McCarron
News Editor
The LGBT affinity house may soon host registered parties in Summit House, their new location, pending University approval.
Bill McCoy, director of the Office of LGBT Awareness, and Kate Albertini ’14, LGBT house student leader, hope that parties at Summit House will provide much-needed alternative party spaces on campus.
“The option is important. Just because the majority of campus is Greek doesn’t mean everyone on campus seeks out Greek events,” Albertini said.
Although Summit House is not likely to host events where alcohol is served this semester, Albertini and her housemates are actively looking into hosting an event where drinks will be available to students of age.
The possibility of the LGBT house hosting University registered parties first arose when the LGBT affinity program moved from Galloway House to Summit House, a space that until recently was occupied by a fraternity, McCoy said.
McCoy said that he began to inquire about the possibility of Summit House being used as a space for parties over the summer.
The University’s initial reaction was that such a thing was not possible, but after reviewing the handbook, it was determined that residential programs, like student organizations, were allowed to host parties.
“I think we get used to the status quo … it takes time to process things. But after about 10 minutes of questioning, it became clear that residential programs could in fact host parties,” McCoy said.
Funding for these events, according to Albertini, would be provided by the Office of Residential Education. The University would not provide the alcohol.
The LGBT student affinity housing program, known as Fran’s House, previously occupied Galloway House, a small space located downtown near Larison Hall, but was moved uphill this year to Summit House to accommodate an expanding program.