On Oct. 20, the new Gender and Sexuality Center opened in the Usdan Student Center, following up on the efforts of a group of students who proposed the center to the Board of Trustees last October. 

This board congratulates the students from the Student Union, Queer Resource Center, Triskelion, Queer Policy Alliance and TransBrandeis for their proposal’s success and also recognizes the University’s willingness to respond to and, more importantly, fund student demands.

The Gender and Sexuality Center now occupies its own permanent space, allowing easier access and privacy to individuals who visit. Before now, these student groups held an office in the Shapiro Campus Center within the office for the Student Sexuality Information Service, but the purposes of these two resources are distinct and merit separate spaces. 

As the Gender and Sexuality Center performs the critical service of advising students who struggle with their sexuality, identity and other issues, it is encouraging that a permanent space has been established specifically to address these problems. In an Oct. 15, 2013 special to the Justice, Alex Thomson ’15 explained that LGBTQ individuals face name-calling and even violence at Brandeis.

However, this board also also note that a full-time coordinator has yet to be hired. 

Though students involved in the center are an active and valuable resource, the nature of the center demands a dedicated and qualified full-time staff member who can best address the needs of the Brandeis community. We ask that the administration quickly complete the final rounds of interviews to hire an employee with formal training and experience in providing advice of this sensitive nature, to ensure that students receive only the best counseling. In addition, a full-time coordinator will hold more programming and have more time for appointments with students—things Thomson specifically mentioned the old center lacked. 

The self-motivation and effective advocacy displayed by the group of students who wrote the original proposal last year is highly admirable, especially seeing as they have not stopped at merely securing the permanent space and have gone on to seek out a full-time employee. We are therefore optimistic about the future of this center and hope it continues to perform its services at a high level.