Yesterday, they talked about the suicides.
A dozen first-year students in the university’s One Project — a specialized section of UNIV 100 offered to members or allies of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community — sat in a classroom yesterday afternoon, discussing the recent string of suicides among young people taunted about their perceived sexual orientations.
Now more than ever, organizers said, they wanted to make sure this university’s students feel secure.
“The students were asked if they felt safe in their halls,” said Dian Squire, assistant director of orientation and the One Project coordinator.
Squire developed the program with the help of other administrators and student groups such as Pride Alliance to address the special needs of students coming to terms with various aspects of their identities.
“Not only are they experiencing the transition to college, but also coming out again for the first time,” Squire said. “The ultimate goal is to retain LGBT students who might not belong to an LGBT community. Once students feel like they belong, they are more likely to persist throughout by continuing to their academics and graduating.”
The course is partnered with mentorship, various events and an alternative spring break trip.
One of the project’s teaching assistants, junior kinesiology major Sam Mohen, said the program builds a solid academic and social foundation for freshman students to take full advantage of the university’s resources, similar to the objectives of other UNIV 100 courses.
Each week Mohen reads the journals of students in her section. She said the entries are meant to encourage students to write about their individual identities and their first semester of college living.
This week, the students turned their attention to the suicide of Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old Rutgers University freshman who committed suicide after his roommate filmed and broadcast online a sexual encounter between Clementi and another man.
“It’s good to know that we have people here to talk to,” freshman speech pathology major Colleen Tuohy said. “Obviously it’s tragic that something like that would happen, especially someone as young as a college student.”
Tuohy identified herself as an LGBT ally — an active supporter of LGBT issues — which she said stems from her experience with her best friend in high school, who is gay.
Next week, the students plan to take their activism and outrage one step further: They will collaborate to create a video to post on the It Gets Better Project’s YouTube page — an outreach campaign, started by openly gay writer Dan Savage, that consists of a series of brief, personal messages assuring LGBT teenagers who are being teased that every life is worth living.
Jazz Jordan, a freshman letters and sciences major, said she looked forward to shooting the video with her classmates.
Students in the One Project also bond in events that promote vocal discussion on contentious topics. Monday, students will share their stories on National Coming Out Day at Stamp Student Union.
The formula seems to be working.
“I hate getting out of this class early! It feels like such a friendly atmosphere and I can say whatever I’m feeling,” one student wrote on the course’s midterm evaluation. “Everyone involved is so supportive. The One Project is my favorite thing about UMD so far.”
quijada at umdbk dot com
