Accommodations for queer students living at UNM could go further

By BILLYJACK DAVIDSON @DailyLobo

For Queer students, finding out who your college roommate is can cause anxiety, Mara Cox – the president of Juniper Reimagined – said. While having roommates is a common practice at the University of New Mexico, for trans students it could possibly create an unsafe living environment.

“One of the biggest anxieties I personally had to face with getting a roommate you don’t know is wondering if you’ll have to hide yourself. If you do have to hide your identity, the best case scenario is just not interacting with the roommate at all – basically having to purposefully avoid them, which is hard when you live with them,” Cox said.

Living Learning Communities are one housing option that UNM offers to students. One of these communities is for gender-neutral individuals and allies.

While UNM has accommodations for the Queer community, some students from Juniper Reimagined – a student group on UNM campus that advocates for inclusivity of the LGTBQ community – says more could be done.

The gender-neutral Living Learning Community consists of one hall and has a gender-neutral bathroom. Those on the floor are all either Queer or allies and it is sectioned off from the rest of the dormitory building. Cox, who is also a resident, said that while this is a good start, it isn’t perfect.

“Coronado has a lot of good aspects – the bathrooms, inclusivity, roommates, etc. The biggest problem it has is how far away and out of the way it is on campus. It’s farther than the rest of the dormitories, plus the hall itself is in a far side of the building itself,” Cox said.

The housing registration process in general is confusing, according to Cassandra Huneau who recently graduated from UNM and worked on the Basic Needs Project – studying college student basic needs insecurity.

“While UNM has done a much better job compared to other universities and it’s a great start, there’s still so much that can be improved upon as a whole. Especially when it comes to housing. That was one of the hardest things, personally, for me as a student,” Huneau said.

AJAAS from page 2 is a Chicano music group from Los Angeles that first met when working to unionize the Los Angeles Conservation Corps and in the protest that followed not gaining union recognition. The Chicano movement has long been involved in labor organizing, originally the National Farm Workers Association. United Farm Workers was founded by Chicano labor activists.

Unpacking and understand-

Housing from page 4

Juniper Reimagined wants UNM to create more gender-neutral Living Learning Communities or Queer housing options, Cox said. More Queer living spaces on campus would allow trans and Queer students to feel more comfortable and safe, Cox said.

“While the hall in Coronado is great for us, there shouldn’t just be

Adderall from page 4 reliably made it extremely difficult to get all of my things done. And then, stay on top of my schoolwork,” Friedman said.

While professors have been accommodating during the shortage, Friedman said that this has not always been their experience ing Mexican-American history and the roots of Latinx struggle in class and union organization, Quiroz said, has been a part of the educational goals of the club. They focus on translating those values into the work they do now.

“Having the space also helps me to contribute to and help my community,” Johnson wrote.

“We’re also such a diverse group that even with similar traits, we one hall, there should be a lot more,” Cox said.

UNM ranked fourth of best colleges for LGBTQ students in the United States by BestColleges. Aragon attributed the ranking to the multiple student organizations, like Juniper Reimagined, that work for the betterment of Queer students.

“We need to keep pushing for im- seeking accommodations, and they attribute it to the Africana studies and WGSS departments.

“Because of the area of study that I’m in, my professors are tending to be a little bit more understanding, like ‘You’re a student, but you’re also a human be- have so many different experiences and we can all learn from each other. I feel that as a community, this space makes us stronger.”

Expressing herself through art, Quiroz said, she has found pride in herself through the space that AJAAS has created to educate and find community.

“I’m proud to be a trans Queer person, or a Queer Latina person, or more so standing up for provement because, while things are good – a fact we are all happy about – we have lived too long in the dark to give up now,” Aragon said. ing.’ I have been in other programs at UNM where I’m sure that that is not the case,” Friedman said. Understanding how identities intersect is crucail for liberation, Friedman said. “Mental health and access to medications relating to mental our rights or showing the growing pains of living the way we are,” Quiroz said.

BillyJack Davidson is a freelance reporter at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo. com.

Maddie Pukite is the editorin-chief at the Daily Lobo. They can be contacted at editorin- chief@dailylobo.com on Twitter @maddogpukite health and neurodiversites is part of the struggle towards collective liberation,” Friedman said.

Maddie Pukite is the editor-inchief at the Daily Lobo. They can be contacted at editorinchief@ dailylobo.com on Twitter @maddogpukite