On Saturday April 25th, 2009 I got to spend the day at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. The group of students I met with are in the beginning stages of forming a state-wide coalition of college/university LGBTQIA student organizations. I was amazed with the ideas they were coming up with; why there was a need, how the organization how run, and what the coalition would do, etc.

The organizers of the meeting, Crystal Nieves & Nicolette Laume, did an amazing job of contacting all of the student groups from around the state to come on Saturday. Though they did not get the turnout there were expecting – I reminded them it is not quantity, it is the quality of those who are there and want to do the work. I know with time the coalition that they have started with grow into something wonderful.

I pledged Campus Pride’s support for them. So as they grow larger and need advisement we will stand beside them and help them grow. One of the students was a high school student currently and heard what was happening here in CT. So as he is heading off to college in Massachusetts in the fall he wants to create the same thing there. This will be very exciting.

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During our conversations that day someone asked “Why do we call ‘grassroots organizing’ grassroots?” I had to stop and think for a bit, then I came up with this analogy (all you plant people will link this one):

Picture what grass looks like. Think why we plant grass. What does grass do? Now think of its root system, what does it look like? We plant grass to stop soil from eroding away. It does this because of its tight root system. (someone interjected as I was explaining and said “yeah but grass is hard to grow!”) That person is correct grass is hard to grow sometimes. That is another reason the root system is so dense and massive, grass needs tight interwoven roots to be able to handle the beating it takes on a daily basis. “Grassroots Organizing” is the same. This process of building a grassroots organization is hard at the start A LOT OF TIME & ENERGY is put in to get it to take root. However, so the organization grows stronger, the tighter and more stable the roots of the organization become. Though one will still need to put energy into the organization to ensure its success and sustainability, once the organization has covered all the areas it has intended too and involves the correct people it will live on for a very long time.

Like I told the group on Saturday, though you cannot see the results of you efforts just yet you have laid an amazing foundation for the coalition to grow. So if you are reading this and you want to start our own coalition – no matter how big or small or even what the issue you want to organize around – all you need to do first is spread the seeds, aka start reaching out to people. I am sure if you feel there is a need for the coalition there will be others who feel the same way.
If you would like help in starting a coalition feel free to contact me @ chris@campuspride.org

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For those of you who are interested I also got to spend a weekend with my mom! I am a mama’s boy so I loved this weekend. Even though while I was at the coalition meeting her Jeep was broken into (passenger window smashed) and her GPS system was stolen, I had a great time. What made the weekend even better is I got to do some yard projects for mom while I was home or as we like to call it “Bonding Time!” I restarted the bird creek we put in last summer (I have pictures of the creek on my office computer once I get back to Iowa I will insert some pictures), redid a section of fence mom needed be replaced, and fixed her lawn chart (the hitch was about to break off). I was in heaven getting to use all the power tools. My mom complained at one point that I was making the project to complex – my response was the more complex I make the project the more power tools I get to use! She just smiled and laughed! These are the days that I love being home and being a son of a lesbian!!!!

Now I am getting ready to watch my all time fav shows Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters.