Tag: LGBTQ+

LGBTQ Support Group Looking for New Members

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Story by Hilary Broman,

Senior Staff Reporter

Efforts to reestablish the LGBTQ support group at CNM are currently underway, said group adviser, Mark Danley.

The group is intended to be a place where people who were lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered or questioning can safely meet, and provide emotional support for each other and educate each other in a friendly, peer-centered environment.

“I’d like to see those roles continued and possibly expanded with outreach, community service and coordination with other organizations in the Albuquerque area,” Danley said.

Interested students can contact Danley directly through his email address, mdanley@cnm.edu.

The group needs to meet the minimum number of eight members in order re-form the organization, he said.

So far, only five students have expressed interest in becoming a part of the group.

Danley thinks that it is important to have an active LGBTQ support group at CNM because right now is a scary time for LGBTQ people, he said.

“The current political environment of the country is pretty adversarial to people who don’t fit into a preconceived notion of “normal.” Trans people have been singled out recently as “boogie-men” of sorts because their gender identification does not match the gender of their birth certificate.”

Danley believes that there has been an upswing in domestic acts of terrorism and violence committed by people who support the authoritarian tone being expressed by the current presidential administration, he said.

“I think that many people are concerned about their personal safety and well-being as well as those of others.”

The group was active about a year ago under the advisement of Philip Lister, but the group fell into inactivity.

This year Lister’s schedule doesn’t allow him the time to facilitate the group so he asked Danley to take over.

“It would be great to see the group become active again,” Lister said.

Danley said that he wants to help the students in the group accomplish what they’d like to do.

“As an advisor, I don’t see my role as being the leader who makes the plans for the group. I’d prefer that the students organize and plan their activities and the direction of the group themselves,” he said.

CNM does provide designated safe space areas around the campuses for LGBTQ students such as: The Office of the Dean of Students, the Disabilities Resource Center and the Connect Centers, Danley said.

Although a specific counselor for LGBTQ students is not an official position, there are people at the Connect centers who will provide support resources.

“The goal of re-forming is not to supplant the work of these offices, but rather to act as a synergist to expand ways in which LGBTQ students may engage with the CNM Community as well as other organizations in Albuquerque and New Mexico,” he said.

 

 

Featured content graphic at the top of the post is by by Heather Hay.

Pride and equality for all

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By the Chronicle Editorial Board

It is such a sad occasion that after a great event such as the Pride parade mentioned in the front page article called All the colors of the rainbow at the 2014 Pride Parade, that parade goers are still advised by event coordinators to be aware of one’s environment and to take appropriate precautions after a day at Pride, according to abqpride.com.

People of any creed, race or sexual orientation should not have to be advised to look over their shoulders when gathering anywhere for any reason, and are just reminded of how far our society must still go in order to achieve true equality.

What was great about this year’s event though was that there were less protesters and they did not end up walking in the parade which had been the case in previous years, as only two people were protesting the parade’s beginning point at Girard Boulevard and Central Avenue.

No one should be forced to hear gay slurs or be told that god hates them, because everyone deserves to live their lives the way they want to, without judgment or ridicule for just being who they are in life.

Hopefully in the coming years of the parade there will be no one protesting the equality of LGBTQ individuals, because everyone is entitled to have the same rights as every other indi­vidual and should not be told how to live one’s life or who they should love.

It is also a brilliant idea that the CNM community recog­nizes that there is a need for help in the LGBTQ community with the new LGBTQ plus group, and that students here have a foundation and are supported by the school.

Support groups for students on campus

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By Nick Stern, Copy Editor

Undergraduates can find themselves with many problems aside from the obvious stress that comes with trying to get that degree, but luckily for students, different support groups of many different shapes and sizes are springing up on campus, including the four groups listed below.

Students Support Sobriety

Child Youth Family Development major, Denise Savchuk has succeeded in getting a sobriety support group officially approved by CNM and has been working quite hard to get the program up and run­ning by the fall semester, she said.

The name of the support group is Students Support Sobriety and is a program that is intended to follow in the footsteps of the traditional Alcoholics Anonymous organization, she said.

Savchuk believes that there are a large number of students who are willing to attend the meetings, which reflects the necessity and benefits the program could provide for many people who are working on their sobriety, she said.

“I feel that there is a dire need for it and I have gotten tons of emails regarding when the meeting is,” she said.

Unfortunately, despite the large inter­est in the support group among students, Savchuk is short of starting the meetings until a proper organization is grounded, she said.

To create a board for the group Savchuk would only need to recruit five members, but so far the large number of people that have been interested have been strictly interested in showing up for the meetings as guests and Savchuk is unwill­ing to have the meetings without the assur­ance of longevity, because the organization would provide such an important service to the large number of people who need it, she said.

“I believe I just have not come across the right people. I really want this organi­zation to carry on. I want the backing of CNM to support this and they are-they want it as much as I do but I am not willing to just have any meeting,” she said.

Speakers are intended to inspire and motivate students who are newer and cur­rently trying to walk the path of sobriety while also trying to complete their educa­tion, she said.

“We need to hear these people that have already walked this path. People who are currently on the road to recov­ery can see that it can, and has been done,” Savchuk said.

To contact the sobriety support group, email Savchuk at dsavchuk@cnm.edu or Lori Gallegos at lgallegos4@cnm.edu.

 

Mothers and Mothers To Be

CNM Moms and Moms to be is a support group that is directed at helping mothers who are also trying to make it through school as well, Treasurer Torrey Moorman said.

The group came to be when a number of mothers decided that CNM needed a resource where mothers could get support and education about breastfeeding, access to parenting classes and support, and access to any other resources that could benefit mothers or future mothers who are also enrolled in school, she said.

“A whole bunch of mothers were like ‘let’s at least have a support group at school so that we had a place to have a support group at school,’” She said.

The lack of official status has led to a lack of students who show up regularly along with limited potential candidates that could be elected as officers which would then help make the support group an offi­cial student organization, Moorman said.

“This term was primarily supporting three pregnant moms and so we did a lot of pre-natal education classes. We talked about how to make breastfeeding easier, we talked about the fact that it is the act of breastfeeding that increases IQ and changes oral development,” Moorman said.

There is a plan for having meetings during the summer semester of 2014 and, Moorman said the goal is to have meetings at the Montoya campus on Thursdays and then at Main campus on Tuesdays, she said.

The times have not been decided yet because the room locations are still being figured out, but the meetings will most likely be held between 9 a.m. and noon, she said.

If there are any mothers who are inter­ested in receiving more information about the support group and discovering the times for the future meetings, their best bet is to find the support group on Facebook. com/moms.moms2b, Moorman said.

The group has also anticipated the need for a new president, vice president, secretary, and a treasurer after the fall semester and would greatly appreciate having enough people to run, Moorman said. To contact Moms and Moms to be support group email Torrey Moorman at tbrooksprovost@cnm.edu.

 

National Alliance on Mental Illness

The NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) on Campus support group is another group that is in the process of becoming an official student organization which is meant to sup­port students and the family of students with mental health issues, Disability Resource Center Counselor Kate Rogers said.

NAMI has helped people by using support groups which cover how to deal with mental health issues and also provides support for family members to help educate them on how to support their loved ones in the best manner possible, Rogers said.

“Family members can be so influential in people’s health and so family members got train­ing on what to do in certain situations so they could support the person and keep that person out of the hospital or out of institutions,” Rogers said.

The support group focuses on and is open to all students whether they are diagnosed themselves with mental health issues, related to someone who is diagnosed, or even just inter­ested in learning to be supportive, Rogers said.

Educational meetings and events are anticipated to be scheduled on a regular basis for the fall semester of 2014 and the current task is getting a solid board and proper bylaws together so the group can become an official student organization, Rogers said.

“What they are really hoping to do is have events that help educate people about mental health. We want to be sure to be involved in student health fairs and things like that,” she said.

Rogers believes the support group is beneficial to students because students who have problems and feel uncared for will have a chance to talk to people who really do care, and are willing to discuss problems and provide the support that might make all the difference in someone’s life and educational success, she said.

“If you don’t feel like anybody here actually cares, you might just stay home. So if you have a support group you can call up and say ‘I’m really feeling depressed’ somebody might say ‘hey I’ll meet you after class and we can talk,’” Rogers said.

The community could also benefit immensely from the support, Rogers said, because by learning the proper education about different mental diseases, people will learn just how invalid the stigmas are and learn to be compassionate and understanding towards people with these issues.

Rogers advises anyone who is interested in contacting NAMI on Campus for sup­port, interest in volunteering, or for information can contact Rogers through her email at Krogers25@cnm.edu, Rogers said.

 

LGBTQ+

 

The LGBTQ Plus support group is a group that is intent on creating safety zones on campus and providing safety training to create such safety zones, all for the benefit and support of people of all genders and sexualities, Treasurer Torrey Moorman said, who participates in both Moms and Moms to be, and the LGBTQ support groups.

The group has a goal which is to let people know that no matter what their gender or sexuality is, it is important to communicate openly and honestly about tough subjects, she said.

“What we are trying to do is-people need to know that information whether you are les­bian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, or whether you are straight. You need to know how to have good communication skills to talk about these things. You need to know where to go to get tested. You need to know how to get tested,” she said.

The support group plans on holding its meeting during the summer semester every Tuesday but the exact location and time is still yet to be announced, Moorman said.

The group has also planned to have a safer sex workshop on Friday, May 30 and has already confirmed two speakers for the event, she said.

The workshop is meant to cover everything from the basics of safer sex like using con­doms to the tougher subjects like talking to partners about getting tested, Moorman said.

“We are going to be covering the basics but also the nitty gritty stuff that people do not want to talk about like how do you talk to somebody about being safe during sex, how do you talk about being tested before you have sex because it’s not just vaginal or anal that can cause problems but the fastest growing trait of oral cancer is in the 15 to 25 age range from oral sex without a condom,” Moorman said.

The meetings are planned to be more like a lounge and coffee situation where people can choose to stay as long or short as they please, she said.

If any participants have questions, concerns, or personal problems they will have the option to seek help during the meetings and will even have the option to ask for a mentor, Moorman said.

Moorman also said there is a need for a CNM faculty member who would be willing to support the CNM LGBTQ Plus community, she said.

“These support groups are helpful because it is hard enough to be in college. There are always stresses and we need to eliminate all the things that should not be stresses,” Moorman said.

To contact the LGBTQ Plus group contact Torrey Moorman at tbrooksprovost@cnm.edu.