Tag: LGBTQ
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The Mental Health Pandemic in the LGBTQ+ Community
The LGBTQ community was already marginalized and in greater need of mental health services. In the eyes of many health professionals, the coronavirus pandemic only made that need more apparent. Warning: This story contains mentions of discrimination against the LGBTQ community, suicide, and mentions of sexual assault that some readers may find upsetting. You are…
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The Expression of A Drag King and Queen: The Art of Introspection
Two years ago, 22-year-old ShowPonii performed in his first drag show on March 14 at a tiny house party in New Paltz. Usually plagued with the feeling of needing to throw up before any public event, this party consisted of 20-30 people that he knew, giving him a shrill of excitement rather than anxiety. The…
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Chiz’s Heart Street: A Community of Acceptance and Love
Mary ‘Chiz’ Chisholm, owner of Chiz’s Heart Street, speaks on sustainability and homelessness. Chiz’s Heart Street, which caters to the LGBTQ+ community and those managing mental illness, strives to provide accessible shelter and food to the community. For more information on Heart Street and how to volunteer or donate, call 845-399-7891, visit http://chizsheartstreet.org/index.html or email…
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Drag: Culture, Community, Controversy
Edited by Tom Perpetua and Sebastian Rubino It’s a Saturday night in late February at Bangkok Café, a Thai restaurant in New Paltz, New York, where a drag show is underway. Strobe lights are flashing, the DJ is blasting top ten tracks and drag queens are making the crowd scream, “Yasss Queen!” One of the…
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The Candidates’ Views on Marriage Equality
By Katie Donlevy HUDSON VALLEY— The Human Rights Campaign endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in Jan. 2016. Donald Trump has not received endorsements from any LGBTQ organization. The Log Cabin Republicans, one of the most influential LGBTQ groups, refuses to endorse Trump because of his ideals and choice in Mike Pence as vice president. The…
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Getting to Know Activist And Playwright Raine Grayson
By Jillian Nadiak Twenty-two year old Raine Grayson is a young playwright from New Paltz who uses his work to spread awareness in any way he can about social issues from autism to LGBTQ matters. Unlike most writers, however, Grayson is transgender and like the estimated 700,000 other transgender people living in America according to the Williams Institute,…
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A Call to Arms: Lt. Dan Choi Raises His Voice
Lt. Dan Choi has been referred to as a cadet, a soldier, an activist, a political figure, a pothead, a heavy drinker, a terrorist, a grand marshal, a saint, and a sinner. Now, Lt. Choi is a student and a candidate for the board of trustees at the City College of San Francisco, where he…
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Westboro Baptist Church Protests at Vassar College
Four members of the Westboro Baptist Church assembled outside the main gate at Vassar College Thursday, Feb. 28 to protest school policy. In return, they faced a sea of counter-protesters so large, the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department had to close the road and reroute traffic. The Topeka, Kan. based Westboro Baptist Church is a…
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A Look Into “EUGENIA”
Transgender issues may be a hot topic on campus, but they are nothing new, as the Theatre Arts Department reminds us with the play “EUGENIA.” Written by playwright Lorae Parry, “EUGENIA” is a gender-bending play that is set in two time periods, 1916 and modern day New Zealand. It addresses the issues of gender roles…
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Quiet for a Cause
On Friday, April 15, a group of New Paltz students participated in Day of Silence, a protest in which those involved took a vow of silence to spread awareness about harassment and bullying in the LGBTQ community. The protest took place in the Soujourner Truth Library lobby. Protesters held signs inviting passersby to comment on a…
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Lost in Legislation
Over the past few months, headlines have focused on certain provisions within the new health care reform bill. Americans have been told that reforms will allow for 32 million uninsured Americans to be covered, will cost $940 billion dollars over 10 years, allow students to stay on their parents’ insurance until they are 26 years…