GPSA votes in favor of funding gay center

The Queer Resource Center is one step closer to becoming a reality at UNM.
The Graduate and Professional Student Association unanimously passed a resolution Saturday in support of the center.

Jeffrey Waldo, a Queer Straight Alliance representative, said UNM is behind its peer institutions — many of which already have a Queer Resource Center. The universities of Virginia, Utah, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas and Kentucky all have resource centers, he said.

“Many, many other schools have them, and we don’t,” Waldo said. “Twelve out of our 16 peer institutions have a Queer Resource Center or something like it. It seems pretty necessary to support the (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning) community.”

He said LGBTQ students don’t have enough resources on campus. The Queer Straight Alliance only meets once a week and their SUB office — operated by student volunteers — is hardly ever open, Waldo said. Other resource centers, such as El Centro de la Raza and the Women’s Resource Center, are located in Mesa Vista Hall.
“You have to walk through loads of students to get there, so if you’re not out of the closet its just like, ‘Oh my gosh, what am I doing? Do I know these people?’” Waldo said. “LGBTQ students need more protection and privacy and support until they’re ready to come out.”

Danny Hernandez, GPSA Council Chair, said the resolution includes the formation of a task force of students, staff and community members who will work to create the resource center. He said the task force will decide on the center’s name as well. He said the word “queer” may be upsetting to some people.

“My generation has a problem with the term, because there are lots of negative connotations,” he said.

Waldo said the queer resource center asked for $80,000 from the Student Fee Review Board for a computer pod, full time staff, lounge and library. And he said the full-time staff would require only $30,000 per year, and most of the other fees are start-up costs.

Student Evan Bracken, who is openly gay, said the center might be more appealing if it was called the LGBTQ center.

“I don’t personally have a problem with it, but I can see people kind of feeling weird about it, especially if it’s a place where you would want to go,” he said. “I think that calling it the queer center would kind of turn some people off to that.”
Waldo said he hasn’t heard any student concerns about the proposed center’s name.
The SFRB is scheduled to decide if it will allocate the funding on Feb. 5 and 6.
Bracken said free HIV testing and condoms would also be a good service for the center to have. He also said counseling is especially important for some LGBTQ students.

“It can be really hard for certain people, especially people who aren’t really out in their communities or to their friends,” he said. “I think it would really be good to have someone to talk to.”

He said the center would be well worth the money to students.
“There is a huge LGBTQ population, which is very diverse, and they need all the support services and resources they can get,” he said. “They’re still one of the few groups who face open hostility from public officials and don’t have the same legal rights.”

Hernandez said the center would be open to all students, not just LGBTQ students. He said even if the center doesn’t get full funding from SFRB, a good space and volunteers are all that’s needed to start the center and help students.
“When you’re coming to grips with being attracted to people of your same sex, it’s got to be a lot harder because it’s not accepted in society — at least not yet it isn’t,” he said. “This center will help people out in that way as well.”