"Staffing limitations" hinder OPAL's ability to support "the quality and quantity of programs that students would be interested in accessing and participating in," according to Satterlund.
Satterlund has worked in higher education for 17 years and said she plans to use the practical experience she gained working at multiple institutions to inform the decisions she makes at Dartmouth. As they transition to new leadership, staff members at OPAL are in the process of learning each other's "strengths and weaknesses and building our rapport and energies together as a new team," she said.
"OPAL is at a place of continued transition over time," she said.
The Dartmouth community's small size and the close-knit relationships it fosters between faculty and students, particularly those of OPAL employees and students, is one of the College's greatest strengths, Satterlund said.
She also said one of her long-term goals is establishing an LGBT affinity house on campus. OPAL, the Office of Residential Life and the Office of Residential Education are currently collaborating in an effort to establish the house, according to Misener. Although there is no official timeline for the project, the goal is to have the house completed by fall 2013, according to Director of Residential Education Michael Wooten.
The creation of an LGBT affinity house is now a "campus-wide effort" and is "becoming a reality," Misener said.
Parents of potential students have expressed increased interest in the College's resources for LGBT students, she said.
"Parents are increasingly asking what the campus is like for LGBT students, whether their student is LGBT-identified or not," Misener said. "They want to know what the campus is like, particularly in this setting that is perceived as very rural."
Although it is important to be able to point to evidence of resources in the College's curriculum such as the existence of the women and gender studies department the addition of a "literal facility" would provide a less "amorphous" answer, she said.
Faculty and students across campus are engaging in "intentional and strategic conversation" that is contributing to the process, according to Wooten.
Alumni, current students and faculty have all expressed support for the project, Satterlund said.
The purpose of an LGBT affinity house is to "build community," not to promote "segregation or self-segregation," a common misconception, Misener said.
Christian Brandt '12, who was involved in initial discussions about an LGBT affinity house, said that although he expects controversy "in the same way that there are controversies surrounding the other affinity houses," he does not expect it to be "oriented toward LGBT people specifically."
Brandt said that common criticisms of affinity houses are often misguided.
"Somebody is probably going to say, It's only going to encourage minorities to be reclusive' or whatever, but that is a really narrow and normative view of the point of an affinity house," Brandt said in an email to The Dartmouth.
Exploring gender and sexuality is common at many universities, according to Wooten. An LGBT affinity house would be "one more place on campus where students can come together around a shared interest," he said.
Research suggests that students who live in a community centered on a shared interest whether it be hang-gliding, creative gaming or Chinese are happier, he said.
The establishment of an LGBT affinity house "falls very much in line" with the Office of Residential Education's "living-learning programs that already exist at Dartmouth," he said.
All affinity houses and programs such as the gender-neutral floor in Fahey-McLane Hall "fall under the Residential Education umbrella," Wooten said. The programs are funded and staffed by the Office of Residential Education. Most programs are co-sponsored by other offices on campus such as OPAL.
Although there is "no one best practice for inclusivity," Sutterland said, having a physical space on campus where students can live and spend time together is vital because it fosters important community building events, programs and relationships.
The College has never had a living-learning community focused on "the experiences of LGBT people," according to Misener. Gender-neutral housing is a living-learning community focused on looking critically at gender, which is sometimes related to sexual orientation but is not the same thing, she said.
"The notion that gender-neutral housing is LGBT housing is a myth and a misperception," Misener said.
The Office of Residential Education is currently evaluating all of the College's affinity programs and is looking to develop the possibilities for living-learning experiences on campus even further, Wooten said. Pre-business, women in science and engineering and pre-medicine-centered houses are all possibilities for the future, he said.
Staff writer Jennifer Dalecki contributed reporting to this article.
