Newcomb's fourth floor will be the new home to the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center by Feb. 7. The move provided students with easier access to resources, Senior Associate Dean of Students Shamim Sisson said.
"We are very excited about the location because it will be much more accessible to students who will find it to be a wonderful resource to learn about gay student issues," Sisson said. "Also, it will be an easy place for organizations to plan programs."
Emily West, coordinator of the LGBT resource center, said the center will serve as a safe meeting area for students and it will be opening during the week from 2 to 5 p.m.
"It is central and private, so people have privacy if they are uncomfortable," West said. "It is a safe place for people to hang out."
The LGBT supports a plethora of programs, which will be made available in the new location.
"The LGBT is a center that is sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Student Life and the Serpentine Society," Sisson said. "The center sponsors a number of programs, and it serves as a point of connection for a number of student groups and organizations dealing with bisexual and transgender issues," including the Queer Student Union."
QSU Co-President Luke Ward said the QSU is excited about the new location because of the benefit it will bring to students.
"The new location for [the LGBT] will serve as a place to come together as a community, and it'll serve as a place for students who are uncomfortable to come to a more discreet location to get literature or talk to someone," Ward said.
The LGBT also sponsors the Speaker's Bureau, which provides panel discussions to groups such as residence halls, sororities and fraternities, and classes, West said. Additionally, programs will be offered at the new location, such as an event with Jewel Gomez, an African-American lesbian writer, who will present short stories and poems in February.
The LGBT previously was located in the basement of faculty apartments on Rugby Road, which will be demolished for construction purposes, causing the center to relocate, Sisson said.
The space is the in the process of being refurbished; it already has been re-carpeted and repainted. The new space also has new bookshelves and desks.
West said she is excited about the grand opening and hopes students will attend and learn about the resources at the center.
"We plan to do it up," West said.
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