Student Groups Denied Hilles Office Space

Despite office availability, some student groups will be denied rooms in the Student Organization Center at Hilles (SOCH) next year.

Four or five renewal applications were denied because the rejected groups did not adequately utilize their space this year, according to SOCH Student Advisory Board member Amadi P. Anene ’08.

Anene said that no more than five offices will go unused next year.

The decision to keep those offices empty rather than allocate them to undeserving groups was based on a desire to ensure that assigned space would be utilized, according to Anene.

“We’re not trying to fill up space if it’s going to be unused,” he said.

But Rogelio J. Mercado ’09—the co-chair of the Harvard Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, and Supporters Alliance (BGLTSA)—said that it was unfair to deny students space when it was readily available.

“I could understand if there weren’t enough offices, but I don’t see any reason at all to deny groups space if they have an abundance,” said Mercado, whose organization’s request for space was declined.

Mercado acknowledged that BGLTSA has “barely used” its office in SOCH this year, but he added that the group hoped to “make better use of it next year.”

Over 100 student groups applied for office space for the next academic year; over half of those applications were renewal requests from groups that already have a presence in SOCH, according to SOCH Manager David R. Friedrich.

Groups reapplying for space were evaluated based on their applications, their attendance at community meetings, and their use of the space this past year, which was measured with door swipe data.

Friedrich also said that the appearance of each group’s office was an important “litmus test” judging space usage.

“We wanted to see if the offices were well-occupied, or if it was just a couple of boxes on the floor,” he said.

Friedrich said that yearly changes in which groups have space in Hilles should be expected.

—Elaine Liu contributed to the reporting of this story.

—Staff writer Elaine Chen can be reached at chen23@fas.harvard.edu.