The Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) will relocate this summer from the first floor of Ballou Hall to 196 Boston Avenue, with the intention of increasing meeting space and the privacy of the office.
The off-campus move will also accommodate the expansion of the OEO staff, including the hiring of an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) specialist, according to Director of Public Relations Kimberly Thurler and Director of the OEO Jill Zellmer.
The new location will offer many advantages compared with the current location in Ballou Hall or any other available space on the Hill, and reflects Tufts commitment to strong support for all aspects of equal opportunity and non-discrimination, Thurler told the Daily in an email.
Zellmer explained that many people do not want to be seen coming in and out of the OEO office in Ballou Hall, so the move to a more remote location will help solve privacy issues.
It provides us with a different level of confidentiality that is better for a lot of people, not just students, but faculty and staff as well, she said.
The OEO currently meets with students, faculty and staff wherever they are most comfortable and will continue to do so after the relocation, but the office will maintain a swing space on campus for those who prefer to meet off the Hill, Zellmer said.
To access the new OEO location, students can take the Boston Avenue shuttle that runs during the academic year, Thurler said.
Zellmer acknowledged that a disadvantage of the new office is its distance from campus, but she hopes to extend the Boston Avenue shuttle service so that it runs all day instead of starting at noon.
It feels far to some students to go down [to Boston Avenue], she said.
The university last December began the process of relocating the OEO after the position of ADA specialist was created, Zellmer said. There is not enough room in the Ballou office for another staff member, she said.
Options for relocation included the basement of Carmichael Hall or an off-campus space, according to Zellmer.
They knew I wanted to be on campus, but space is at a premium, she said. It was a decision I had to make. Did I want to be in the basement of Carmichael on campus, or did I want to have a much nicer space with windows and a conference room?
Kumar Ramanathan, an organizer of the student group Action for Sexual Assault Prevention, voiced concerns about the OEOs move off campus, explaining that the new location may make the OEO less accessible to victims of sexual assault.
OEO is the closest we have as a confidential, trusted place to go to report your case, find out what the resources are and ... decide whether or not to prosecute, Ramanathan, a sophomore, said. Especially for someone who has just been assaulted ... the ready availability of the office, knowing that you can go there, is really empowering.
Tufts, unlike many peer institutions, does not have a staff member with a specific focus on sexual assault prevention and response, according to Ramanathan. But the OEOs current central location shows the universitys dedication to issues of discrimination and sexual misconduct, he said.
Its presence in Ballou ... stands as a symbol that this is something that matters to Tufts as a university, that fighting discrimination actively is something that matters to Tufts and fighting sexual assault is something that matters to Tufts, Ramanathan said.
He believes that other locations on campus, such as Dowling Hall, could be better options for the relocation.
It makes me question how much the rest of the administration really values OEO, and seeing this from the student side, I know that OEOs presence and activity over the past few years has been very supportive of survivors and is trusted amongst various communities, Ramanathan said. The fact that its moving basically off campus is disheartening.
