Yale renames the LGBTQ Center following student advocacy

Lily Dorstewitz, Senior Photographer

Yale’s Office of LGBTQ Resources was renamed the Yale LGBTQ Center by the University over the summer. The name change came after advocacy from some LGBTQ+ students, who said that the former name made the space seem “sterile” and “not welcoming.”

In April 2023, the Yale Queer Student Alliance, or QSA, sent a letter saying that the former name of the center felt unwelcoming and that renaming the space would create a more open environment. Samuel Byrd, the director of the center, helped submit the letter to the administration.

Byrd announced the “landmark” change in a statement on July 4. 

“Our new name not only honors the legacy of those who fought for LGBTQ visibility and rights, but also strengthens our resolve to continue to foster an inclusive, supportive environment for all members of the Yale community,” Byrd wrote. 

According to Byrd, the change was due to a convergence of many factors, including community feedback. The space also adopted a community center model which will also allow the center to cooperate with sister centers within the Centerlink network, which supports and connects over 375 LGBTQ centers. 

Byrd hopes that moving from the office model to a community center model will also allow the center to reach more members of the LGBTQ+ community across campus, including at law school and medical school.

LGBTQ+ students at Yale think this renaming is an important step forward. 

When Kira Tang ’27, now a co-vice president of the QSA, arrived on campus as a first year, she thought the name “Office of LGBTQ Resources” felt cold.

“Walking in, it felt warm,” she said. “The space is the space, but the name didn’t match how I felt about the space.”

Quinn Luong ’26, the president and founder of the QSA, agrees.

Luong described that the center has always been a home and a good resource for students but feels that the former name did not capture that character.

“I think that when people think of an office, you think of something very sterile, something very professional, something that’s not very friendly,” he said.

Five like-minded members of the QSA drafted a letter requesting a renaming of the center over a year ago.

According to the letter, the former name of the center suggested a work environment that is not a welcoming community for queer students. The term “office” “saps out the joy, activism, and history of the Queer community,” the letter said.

The letter also highlighted the importance of supporting LGBTQ+ students amid rising anti-LGBTQ+ violence and legislation across the nation. 

For the writers of the letter, renaming the office represents a first step forward by the administration to show support for LGBTQ+ students.

“Although it seems very trivial and very small, I think it means a lot to us,” Luong said. “It’s not ‘Step in and ask for help.’ It’s ‘Step in, and you will be given help.’ That’s a big difference.”

Tang hopes that, after the renaming, more students will see the center as a space to “mingle” and make new friends.

Huck Agar-Johnson ’27, the treasurer of the QSA, said that although he is happy with the new name, he wishes it had more warmth, like the names of some Yale cultural centers. 

“I think some of the other cultural houses at Yale have really homey names, like La Casa and The House,” he said. “But I also understand that it could be harder to come up with a name like that for a space that has so many different identities as a part of it. So I’m happy with the LGBTQ Center.”

This year, the QSA plans to focus on fighting anti-trans violence, according to Luong.

He added that the QSA plans to improve physical access to the center, which is located near Benjamin Franklin and Pauli Murray colleges.

“All of this is connected,” Luong said. “It’s really about what gradual steps can we take as an organization, as a family, as a house, to move forward?”

The Yale LGBTQ Center is located at 135 Prospect St.

JAEHA JANG