UNM recently ranked on the Campus Pride network’s LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index, with a score of 4.5 out of 5 stars — the highest score in the state.
The index awards scores based on eight separate criteria, including counseling and health, campus safety and academic life. UNM received 4.5 stars on their Sexual Orientation score, and 4 stars on the Gender Identity/Expression score.
“We have a really strong queer community here, and we have a lot of allies,” said Alyssa Hedrich, communications chair for the University’s student-run Queer Straight Alliance. “I’ve always felt safe at UNM, and I think the LGBTQ community as a whole is faring pretty well here. I think that the Campus Pride index reflects that.”
Frankie Flores, administrative assistant at UNM’s LGBTQ Resource Center, said his department offers lots of free services to students, including free HIV testing, referrals for counseling and mental health services and connections to other resources both on and off campus.
UNM is the state’s only university with a dedicated LGBTQ Resource Center.
The resource center also partners with student organizations like the Queer Straight Alliance; OUT Women, a group for lesbian and transgender students; and the Gentlemen’s Society, a discussion group for gay men.
“We want to make sure there is a safe space for everybody, and that everybody feels included,” Flores said. “We’re not specifically just for the LGBTQ community; anybody who is an ally can come in for help as well.”
Flores said the center is creating a support group specifically for gender non-conforming students as well.
In addition to services for students, the Resource Center is also working with departments on campus to train employees on ways to support LGBTQ students by way of a four-hour Safe Zone training.
“In it we talk about terminology and how to be an ally to LGBTQ individuals,” Flores said. “I think that is really one of our biggest programs here at the Resource Center.”
One area for improvement on Campus Pride’s report card was the services offered by the school for transgender students and those in the process of transitioning.
Transgender students who change their names can have a difficult time accessing and updating their records, and UNM does not offer insurance coverage for trans students to help pay for hormone replacement therapy, according to Campus Pride’s report.
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Both Flores and Hedrich were involved in getting a few gender-neutral bathrooms on campus, but they both said more work needs to be done to make UNM a completely safe and welcoming place for transgender students.
Flores said his department is working on improving these issues, including having all single-occupancy bathrooms on campus changed to gender-neutral.
“The majority of us never have to think about whether it’s safe for us to pee. But for some transgender students that is a reality, and there is a fear of violence,” Flores said.
Hedrich said that although things have gotten much better for UNM’s LGBTQ community, there is still a long way to go.
“It’s really about a change in perception,” she said. “I grew into my own identity over the course of my time here at UNM, and I also think that the university itself has made some great adjustments and changes to its own ways that make it more inclusive to the queer community.”
The LGBT Campus-Friendly Climate Index is run by Campus Pride, a national nonprofit that assists colleges in creating safer, friendlier and more inclusive experiences for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer students.
For more information or to see the complete index results, visit campusprideindex.org.
Jonathan Baca is a news editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @JonGabrielB.
