Today marks the first anniversary of the grand opening for the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center's Carriage House, located at 3907 Spruce Street.
And with a new home, the LGBT Center has spread its wings over the past year with the creation of four new task forces to confront LGBT issues in academia, on the playing field, in dorms and involving racial minorities.
According to LGBT Center Director Bob Schoenberg, the groups are "different than a formally constituted student organization or University committee."
These groups are not funded by the Student Activities Council, and rely on space use and staff support from the LGBT Center's facility.
"These are groups of LGBT-affiliated volunteers working together on a common interest under the umbrella of the LGBT," Schoenberg said. "This is kind of their place of origin and their home base."
The center's annual open house yesterday drew a small group of students and University staff, who came to greet old friends, make new ones and familiarize themselves with the programs at the Carriage House.
"I think it's amazing," College freshman Josh Gafni said of the center. "I came from a very conservative high school... so to have a center here is such a change."
College sophomore Phil Cochetti is heading a new task force which tackles LGBT issues in an academic sense, although the group has not yet taken full flight.
"Right now we're figuring out the best strategy of action," he said. "We're gathering names of different courses that could be LGBT inclusive," which will be put in print when available.
The academic task force also plans to aid professors who would like to approach LGBT issues in the classroom, but don't know how, according to Cochetti.
Also new to the Center this year is QPOC -- Queer People of Color -- which is headed by Wharton junior Luzern McAllister.
According to McAllister, QPOC's main goal is to raise awareness on campus that there are people who are members of both the LGBT community and the different racial communities.
This past summer, the LGBT Center also began work on a project called Safezone, which will train resident advisers and graduate associates on the best method to help students "who aren't quite ready to come to the LGBT Center," Schoenberg said.
In this way, students "can use their RA or GA as their first line of response," he said. "Safezone stickers would tell those residents that the RA or GA is a safe person to talk to if they're questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity."
And founded last spring was another of the center's new groups -- Penn Athletes and Allies Tackling Homophobia and Heterosexism at Penn.
According to College junior and PATH Co-Chairman Paul Farber, the group is "designed to foster dialogue between the LGBT and athletic communities."
"One of our primary goals is to make sure that all athletes and coaches can live up to their potential, and not have to worry about anything outside the playing field," said Farber, a 34th Street staff member.
Schoenberg added that, in part through the development of these new task forces, "we're making very good use of a really wonderful place."
The LGBT Center, which originally occupied the third floor of 3537 Locust Walk, was housed in the 6,000-square-foot house last year, following $2.5 million worth of renovations.
According to Schoenberg, the center's relocation last year reaffirmed the University's support of the LGBT community and its need to receive greater recognition.
Schoenberg added that the move into a larger space has helped the center to attract more students.
"I'm really surprised that they have this type of facility," LGBT Ally and Wharton freshman Marc Krohn said.
The center allows many University groups to use its new space, including ones that are not sponsored by the LGBT. So far, these have included a dance group, Penn's American Civil Liberties Union chapter and several peer health education groups, Schoenberg said.
"Also, it allows us to hold many of our programs in our own space as opposed to having to reserve a room in Houston Hall or Logan Hall," he said, adding that the number of people who use the center is "much larger than it ever could have been on Locust."
But though Cochetti said he "loves the new space," he added, "I kind of miss the little things, like how we used to have a Gay Pride Flag that flew right outside our office.
"Though we got an amazing space, we're not really as central as we were before."
