NMSU’s LGBT+ Programs and Gender & Sexuality Studies hosted a mixer on Feb. 13 for Aggie students, staff, and community members to celebrate love in all its forms.
Dae Romero is the Interim Director for LGBT+ Programs and the basic course director for Introduction to Communication. As one of the minds behind the collaboration, Romero said they wanted the two groups to work together to bring people in.
“So, I mean, one, we kind of serve the same folks, right,” Romero said. “And two, I think when it comes down to it, we’re needing to, you know, mend the bridges that were potentially broken in prior histories and stuff like that.”
Romero said inspiration for the event struck them when thinking about how to promote and unite members of the community and campus.
“Because I know right now, everything is so uncertain,” Romero said. “And I think if folks see people within the community, especially the NMSU community, collaborating together, hopefully, we can inspire other folks to do the same, because that’s what community is all about, right?”
Lore Falls is the Student Program Coordinator at LGBT+ Programs and a part of the team that planned the mixer. Their vision for the event was to bring the community together.
“Obviously there’s a lot going on in the nation and in the world right now, and with it being so close to Valentine’s Day, it was very much about kind of queering Valentine’s Day, Palentine’s Day, Galentine’s Day,” Falls said. “Bringing community together to enjoy all these different activities.”
The mixer included activities such as a mix-and-meet, a DIY valentine card station, a selfie station, bracelet crafting, and speed friending. Speed friending invites guests to partake in meaningful conversations with strangers to build new bonds.
Samuel Worley, who works as an ASNMSU Advisor, attended the event to make a card for his partner. Worley learned about the mixer through Romero and has attended other LGBT+ Programs’ events.
“It seems like a great way to meet people,” Worley said. “So, I find a sense of community.”
Romero said they want Aggies to know there is a community for them at NMSU and a space for students to socialize.
“I think right now, hope is lacking,” Romero said. “Potentially in the climate that we’re all kind of navigating, I think the need and the importance of community, right now, really needs to be kind of lifted up.”
Romero said they hope future events put on individually and together by the LGBT+ Programs and Gender & Sexuality Studies will continue to connect people and uplift one another.
“I think that’s something we can get back to, like, our roots where it’s just like – community is how we survived, right,” Romero said. “So, I think if we can do that, then we’ll be in good hands.”
