DAILY LOBO new mexico
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wednesday The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
September 23, 2009
QSA membership heavily on the rise by Andrew Beale Daily Lobo
The UNM Queer Straight Alliance has seen about a 300 percent increase in membership since last semester. Ralph Baylor, a QSA member, said that about 10 people attended meetings last year, but now there are about 50 attendees at each meeting. QSA spokesman Jeffrey Waldo said a member from a San Francisco chapter was impressed when she visited a meeting at UNM. “(She) came and checked out the group and exclaimed that we had more people than her QSA in one of the gay capitals of America,” he said. QSA chairwoman Brandy Rodke said the group is thriving because there are more officers promoting the meetings. She said the number of officers increased from two last semester to eight this fall. Rodke also said the group has done more sidewalk-chalking and
distributed more fliers this semester than in years past. Waldo said the difference in QSA attendance this semester has changed the dynamic of the organization. “The number and diversity of this year’s group is insane,” he said. “The room that was mostly empty last year is now completely packed.” Waldo said UNM’s QSA is more important than most student organizations on campus and should be able to offer additional services. “Unfortunately, this is a studentrun organization. We’re basically just like the Chess Club, or Hobbit Society,” he said. “UNM’s GLBTQ community needs something along the lines of the Women’s Resource Center, or Native American Student Services. Right now, they have the QSA doing what a (Queer Resource Center) should do. … Most other universities have a QRC.” Rodke said the group is meant to be a safe zone where people can feel comfortable no matter their sexual identity.
Queer Straight Alliance Meetings Wednesdays 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. SUB Acoma A&B
“It lets everyone know it’s okay to be themselves, especially for people who aren’t really out yet,” she said. Student Chelsea Toledo said the QSA serves an important purpose on campus by helping people feel safer to express their sexuality. “The QSA is the reason why I can go around campus with a rainbow belt,” she said. Rodke said the QSA is planning more events in the wider community this semester. “That’s something the straight allies have suggested, to go out into a straight environment, because it’s a queer straight alliance, not just a queer alliance.”
Queer Straight Alliance president Brandy Rodke rolls up a banner in their SUB office. QSA membership increased to 50 attendees for their meetings from 10 attendees last semester. Vanessa Sanchez / Daily Lobo
Book signing features faculty authors, local focus by Tricia Remark Daily Lobo
Junfu Han / Daily Lobo Professor Merideth Paxton, left, asks University Planning Officer Mary Kenney about the impact of the UNM Master Plan of development on surrounding neighborhoods. The Office of Institutional Support Services hosted two open houses in the SUB on Monday seeking input.
Master Plan gives voice to UNM community by Kallie Red-Horse Daily Lobo
The University offered community members another opportunity to comment on campus development plans on Monday. The Office of Institutional Support Services held two Master Plan open houses in the SUB — one for faculty, students and staff and one for the surrounding neighbors — to get input on the plan’s framework before the Master Plan is up for approval at the Sept. 29 Regents meeting. The office also posted the plans
Inside the
Daily Lobo volume 114
issue 23
online for comment until Sept. 11. Over 100 people commented online on topics ranging from sustainability to child care. Steve Beffort, vice president for Institutional Support Services, said the University has sought input from the UNM community in a variety of ways. “We understand that there is a sense of some of the people that we haven’t listened to them enough, that they are not being adequately heard,” he said. “We have been taking comments online and at other meetings. This is just one more attempt to broaden the base
To see the Master Plan and comments, visit frem.unm.edu/PCD of opinions.” Representatives from Dekker/ Perich/Sabatini, the architecture firm that developed the Master Plan, were also at the open houses to discuss the plan with passersby. Will Gleason, a DPS associate, said the plan is only meant to be a framework for the
see Master Plan page 3
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In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Bookstore will host a group of UNM faculty authors for a talk and book signing at 2 p.m. today. The four faculty members have written books on anthropology, law, Spanish and political science centered around New Mexico. Laura Gomez, School of Law professor and author of Manifest Destinies: The Making of the Mexican American Race, organized the event. “I think it’s a very nice opportunity for students who don’t know a lot about the subjects and even students who do,” Gomez said. “This is a pretty diverse set of books and authors to bring together.” Gomez said she was inspired to write her book while she was an undergraduate. “I was a student at Harvard in the 1980s, and it was the first time I was ever away from New Mexico,” she said. “I started thinking about New Mexico history in a different way, and I just felt compelled to tell this story.” Gomez said the history of the Hispanic community is significant in America’s identity. “By the year 2030, Latinos in the U.S. are going to be a third of the overall population,” Gomez said. “In New Mexico that’s not anything new,
Hispanic Heritage Month Faculty Authors Book Signing and Panel Speech Today at 2 p.m. UNM Bookstore
because we’ve always had a large presence here, but thinking about that on a more national level and their role in American history is important.” Anthropology Professor Sylvia Rodriguez said she also uses her book The Matachines Dance for a class she developed called the Anthropology of Water. “Its deals with the cultural and religious meanings of water and water-related rituals in the Catholic tradition and Taos area,” she said. Rodriguez said Hispanic Heritage Month spotlights a community that is often ignored. “This month can be used to highlight the accomplishments of people who might not have gotten as much recognition in previous decades,”
see Faculty authors page 3
Faculty authors featured: Laura Gomez: Manifest Destinies: The Making of the Mexican American Race. Sylvia Rodriguez: The Matachines Dance Gabriel Ramon Sanchez: Hispanics and the U.S. Political System: Moving into the Mainstream Neddy Vigil: The Spanish Language of New Mexico and Southern Colorado
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