Lauralee Summer '98, the newly appointed co-chair of Harvard's Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Supporters Alliance (BGLTSA) said yesterday that the organization is responding well to the pressures faced by its growth and its increased political clout on campus.

The group's six "daughter" organizations won official recognition from the College this year. Candidates for the presidency and vice presidency of the Undergraduate Council vociferously lobbied the group--which claims more than 350 members--for an endorsement of their respective campaigns.

But Summer said that the group's rapid growth raises difficult issues that BGLTSA's board is working to address.

At Sunday night's BGLTSA community meeting, co-chair Andre K. Sulmers '98 announced that co-chair Michelle V. "Mitch" McEwen '98 had resigned in mid-November.

As a co-chair, McEwen was one of five members of BGLTSA's board. Summer was appointed by the board to replace her.

McEwen's resignation came after a series of disputes revolving around McEwen's ability to perform the tasks assigned to her, current board members said yesterday.

"We felt that Mitch had taken on too many responsibilities, and she was not able to fulfill all of them to the degree [the board wanted]," said David A. Campbell '00, one of BGLTSA's vice chairs.

Campbell said McEwen told the board that she had overcommitted herself to the organization and was taking too many classes.

According to Campbell, McEwen did not fulfill her obligations in organizing the White Party, an early November dance sponsored by BGLTSA and held in Winthrop House.

And McEwen failed to rent a room in Dunster House for a queer study break later that month, Campbell said.

Campbell said the board expressed its concerns about her inability to carry out her duties as co-chair. Soon after, McEwen resigned from the board.

McEwen declined to comment yesterday on the circumstances surrounding her resignation.

The board is aware of the time commitment issue and is taking steps to prevent something like it from happening in the future, Summer said.

"Our current board is working towards making our organization less hierarchical so that the co-chairs don't represent or equal the BGLTSA and everyone on the board does an equal amount of work," she said.

But Summer said the issue was raised long before McEwen's resignation.