An Interview with Joanna Madariaga (AKA everything you didn't want to know)
-----Original Message-----
From: Madariaga, Joanna
Sent: Mon 3/20/2006 3:10 PM
To: Deschamps, AnaCristina
Cc: Madariaga, Joanna
Subject: Questions on Allies
Hi AnaChristina,
Below are a few questions I have regarding the Allies club for the Southern story. Can you please answer all the questions and send them back to me as soon as possible. Thank you so much.
Sincerely,
Joanna
QUESTIONS:
Can you tell me a little bit about the role and position you play in the Allies club.
I am the Allies President and co-founder. I am responsible for serving as an information conduit between the SGA, our advisor, and our members. I run the meetings and help plan events that we hold on campus. I also inform my members of events both on and off campus that they would be interested in.
I recall the Gay Straight Alliance was not passed through the house last semester. Is Allies the same club, but with a different name. If so, why the name change and why do you believe the GSA did not pass?
The Gay/Straight Alliance did not pass through the house. I suspect that the name was too specific and intimidated the more conservative members of the house. The name "Allies" was our attempt to find a happy medium between the overly specific Allies and the overly general "Common Ground" which went before the house two years ago.
The name change was also a testimony to how much the group had grown over the past few years. We went from an alliance between a handful of supporters to a small community of diverse students. Changing the name was necessary to show how much we have truly grown as an organization that was rejected over and over
Can you please give me some background information about how it came about creating the Allies club (date it was intiated, group of students or individual with the idea, stuff like this)
The idea for Allies originated with a confident senior and a terrified freshmen in the Fall of '03. We started a club that would deal with many issues facing college students, focusing on a variety of things from sexual orientation to racism and sexism to relationship dynamics. This was voted down because the group was too general and the students had trouble determining what its purpose was.
We came back the next year with the Gay/Straight Alliance, a forward group intended to focus only on issues of sexual orientation and gender issues. We attempted this group three times, two of which there were actual votes. We believe that we got voted down because we were not reaching out to the students and giving them a detailed description of who we are.
Finally, the Allies was born. We decided to try a new strategy, visiting individual clubs to try and get the attention of the campus and share who we are. All of our work has paid off; hardly any student could comfortably say that they have no idea what the Allies are.
For how long has the Allies club been trying to get passed in the house?
This will have been the Fifth time we went to the house, and I am delighted to report that this is the first time that we have been passed by the house.
How did you feel about the Allies being passed in the house? Do you believe you are going pass in the Senate?
After so many proposals were rejected by the house, I can honestly say that I was not expecting to pass. I was mentally preparing myself for another grueling defeat and was completely overcome with joy when the vote passed.
I have mixed feelings about the Senate. I am aware that it is a much smaller student body that will be much harder to convince. I am confident that the Senate will see what we have done on the campus and know that we will be a good addition to the Florida Southern Community. We have come too far to be rejected again.
Im aware that the Allies Club is a gay/straight alliance. However, what is the club's mission statement or purpose?
The Florida Southern College Allies Purpose Statement is as follows:
The Florida Southern Allies is a partnership of all diversities that seek to provide a supportive atmosphere for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (GLBTQ) students and their Straight friends and families. Through the use of discussion, outside resources, community work, and enrichment activities, Allies will promote tolerance and understanding of GLBTQ students and contribute to the values of acceptance and compassion at Florida Southern College.
If Allies passes through the senate as well, what days will the club meet and where? who will be the advisor?
Right now, the club is meeting on Fridays at 3:30pm in the counseling center. We are considering moving the meeting to Tuesdays after 6:30. This has not been finalized yet.
What will be the club activities? (any particular functions in mind)
We have plans for both this semester and the next. Our short term goals involve establishing ourselves as a presence here on campus, which we have already begun to do by participating in campus-wide events as a group. We plan on continuing our Bible Study curriculum, which will hopefully continue to meet Wednesdays at 7pm. We are also inviting an alumnus and fellow founder, Larry Coonfare, to come and speak to us on April 10th. We plan to paint eggs for easter, blowing them out to make a garland to give to a local charity organization.
Our long term goals include many speakers, movie nights, and discussion of GLBTQ culture and issues. We plan on going to events off campus, but not on having pride parades on campus, which would be inappropriate. We want to contribute to campus unity by holding events that will inspire creative expression.
Overall, How will the student body benefit from this club?
College is the only time in a young student's life where he or she can be exposed to a wide diversity of people in a safe and education-minded atmosphere. Having a group designed to discuss sexual orientation issues can benefit students who may not be interested in these issues by at least familiarizing them with the culture. Incoming students will know, without a shadow of doubt, that Florida Southern College is not a hostile environment for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning students.
Feel free to tell me any additional information in which i have not asked.
I would like to thank you and the Southern for giving us the opportunity to make our voices heard. Allies could not have become well-known at FSC without the diligence and perserverance of the open media.
From: Madariaga, Joanna
Sent: Mon 3/20/2006 3:10 PM
To: Deschamps, AnaCristina
Cc: Madariaga, Joanna
Subject: Questions on Allies
Hi AnaChristina,
Below are a few questions I have regarding the Allies club for the Southern story. Can you please answer all the questions and send them back to me as soon as possible. Thank you so much.
Sincerely,
Joanna
QUESTIONS:
Can you tell me a little bit about the role and position you play in the Allies club.
I am the Allies President and co-founder. I am responsible for serving as an information conduit between the SGA, our advisor, and our members. I run the meetings and help plan events that we hold on campus. I also inform my members of events both on and off campus that they would be interested in.
I recall the Gay Straight Alliance was not passed through the house last semester. Is Allies the same club, but with a different name. If so, why the name change and why do you believe the GSA did not pass?
The Gay/Straight Alliance did not pass through the house. I suspect that the name was too specific and intimidated the more conservative members of the house. The name "Allies" was our attempt to find a happy medium between the overly specific Allies and the overly general "Common Ground" which went before the house two years ago.
The name change was also a testimony to how much the group had grown over the past few years. We went from an alliance between a handful of supporters to a small community of diverse students. Changing the name was necessary to show how much we have truly grown as an organization that was rejected over and over
Can you please give me some background information about how it came about creating the Allies club (date it was intiated, group of students or individual with the idea, stuff like this)
The idea for Allies originated with a confident senior and a terrified freshmen in the Fall of '03. We started a club that would deal with many issues facing college students, focusing on a variety of things from sexual orientation to racism and sexism to relationship dynamics. This was voted down because the group was too general and the students had trouble determining what its purpose was.
We came back the next year with the Gay/Straight Alliance, a forward group intended to focus only on issues of sexual orientation and gender issues. We attempted this group three times, two of which there were actual votes. We believe that we got voted down because we were not reaching out to the students and giving them a detailed description of who we are.
Finally, the Allies was born. We decided to try a new strategy, visiting individual clubs to try and get the attention of the campus and share who we are. All of our work has paid off; hardly any student could comfortably say that they have no idea what the Allies are.
For how long has the Allies club been trying to get passed in the house?
This will have been the Fifth time we went to the house, and I am delighted to report that this is the first time that we have been passed by the house.
How did you feel about the Allies being passed in the house? Do you believe you are going pass in the Senate?
After so many proposals were rejected by the house, I can honestly say that I was not expecting to pass. I was mentally preparing myself for another grueling defeat and was completely overcome with joy when the vote passed.
I have mixed feelings about the Senate. I am aware that it is a much smaller student body that will be much harder to convince. I am confident that the Senate will see what we have done on the campus and know that we will be a good addition to the Florida Southern Community. We have come too far to be rejected again.
Im aware that the Allies Club is a gay/straight alliance. However, what is the club's mission statement or purpose?
The Florida Southern College Allies Purpose Statement is as follows:
The Florida Southern Allies is a partnership of all diversities that seek to provide a supportive atmosphere for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (GLBTQ) students and their Straight friends and families. Through the use of discussion, outside resources, community work, and enrichment activities, Allies will promote tolerance and understanding of GLBTQ students and contribute to the values of acceptance and compassion at Florida Southern College.
If Allies passes through the senate as well, what days will the club meet and where? who will be the advisor?
Right now, the club is meeting on Fridays at 3:30pm in the counseling center. We are considering moving the meeting to Tuesdays after 6:30. This has not been finalized yet.
What will be the club activities? (any particular functions in mind)
We have plans for both this semester and the next. Our short term goals involve establishing ourselves as a presence here on campus, which we have already begun to do by participating in campus-wide events as a group. We plan on continuing our Bible Study curriculum, which will hopefully continue to meet Wednesdays at 7pm. We are also inviting an alumnus and fellow founder, Larry Coonfare, to come and speak to us on April 10th. We plan to paint eggs for easter, blowing them out to make a garland to give to a local charity organization.
Our long term goals include many speakers, movie nights, and discussion of GLBTQ culture and issues. We plan on going to events off campus, but not on having pride parades on campus, which would be inappropriate. We want to contribute to campus unity by holding events that will inspire creative expression.
Overall, How will the student body benefit from this club?
College is the only time in a young student's life where he or she can be exposed to a wide diversity of people in a safe and education-minded atmosphere. Having a group designed to discuss sexual orientation issues can benefit students who may not be interested in these issues by at least familiarizing them with the culture. Incoming students will know, without a shadow of doubt, that Florida Southern College is not a hostile environment for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning students.
Feel free to tell me any additional information in which i have not asked.
I would like to thank you and the Southern for giving us the opportunity to make our voices heard. Allies could not have become well-known at FSC without the diligence and perserverance of the open media.