Submit your Rollins confession here: (100% anonymous)
#5363 @5359 you're missing the point. It wasn't just one person who did something. It's been several incidents by multiple members, that unfortunately affect the perception of the entire group because the purpose of an organization like that is to be safe space. Which it no longer is. So many people already know these incidents, within and outside of spectrum. The problem is people already know and refuse to do anything about it, meaning frustrations have started to be aired elsewhere.
#5362 I know the stories being referred to in this Spectrum debacle. I don't think it's the fault of the whole group but I understand that it does make the group feel like an unsafe place. A few people can ruin the entire dynamic of a group especially when those people were the figureheads of the group at the time. That being said, there are plenty of us in Spectrum who still want to support you all outside of the official organization capacity. Just know that. This year the ones who were at the center of the drama are graduating, so hopefully next year we can work to bring the organization back to what it is supposed to be.
#5361 I'd probably fit in better at Rollins if I was gorgeous and white.
#5360 I posted a yik yak a while ago about my being a senior with a very high cumulative gpa, coming from a good family, having good friends, all while dealing with depression and addiction problems. The point I was trying to make was that things are not always as they seem. And, while it seems as though the response to my anonymous post was generally supportive, there were a few comments to the extent of, "fucking rich dick. poor you spending daddy's money now you're addicted to oxy and xanax, fuck you pussy."
Now while these comments didn't particularly bother me, they did remind me that there is an unfortunate yet pervasive attitude surrounding mental health. I think a piece of this negative and critical view of those who struggle with psychological conditions has to do with a lack of education on the part of the critic, which is why I would like to briefly share my story.
When I was in high school, I began experiencing feelings of hopelessness, fatigue, and an unwarrantedly high level of anxiety. I would also experience episodes of distorted reality several times a week. After attempting to overcome these problems on my own, I eventually confided in a friend who suggested I tell my parents, who then suggested I go to see a psychiatrist, which I did. After three appointments, the psychiatrist then prescribed an SSRI (the most common form of anti-depressant), and a benzodiazepine for the episodes of anxiety.
Fast forward 6 years. When I wake up, I take amphetamines to get me started, an NSRI to keep balanced, another amphetamine later on to mitigate the crash, and a benzodiazepine at night to alleviate the anxiety that comes with the amphetamines leaving my system. When that doesn't do the trick, I drink myself to sleep. Wake up, shake it off, and repeat.
So the question then becomes, "well, why don't you just stop taking the medications if they're such a problem?" to which there are two answers. Number 1: I have a life to live. I have people who count on me. I have a reputation to uphold. Simply put, I have shit to do. What I don't have is time to waste on detoxing from a drug that I can obtain legally, for very little money, and with very little hassle. Number 2: Not only would the detox itself most likely send me into a psychological tailspin, but once I recovered from that, I would be right back to where I was in high school. Again, I have shit to do, and I cannot accomplish that shit with the mental maturity of an unstable 16 year old.
Now, I recognize that in order for me to completely regain control over my own mentality, I need to seek the proper treatment and undergo a significant period of personal growth. And, I do plan on doing that once I am in a position where I can be free of obligations for a long enough period of time to allow myself to hit rock bottom, and then climb back to the top in the right way. Until then, however, I simply cannot jeopardize what I currently have on the line for the sake of being medicine free.
This is not my ideal scenario, but its the best one I can come up with at present time.
So again, my message is simple: Things are not always as they seem to be. Treat people with compassion and understanding, and give them the benefit of the doubt when they tell you that they're going through something. It may not make sense to you, and it may not make sense to them, but theres no doubt that its real, theres no doubt that it hurts, and theres no doubt that they want nothing more than to overcome it and move forward.
Long story short, if we all spent less time vindicating and more time supporting, maybe we wouldn't all be so fucked up in the first place.
#5359 @5357 If they really wanted a solution, then they should make leaders of the organization aware of whatever was going on. Saying there's a problem on an anonymous forum and constantly complaining about it without actually having conversations in person and letting the leadership know who it is that was causing the problem is not a productive way to make change. Leaving the leadership with an idea that "someone gay did something bad to someone else who was gay but I'm going to be totally nonspecific about who or what happened" and then at the same time blaming the entire organization for whatever happened isn't productive. I'm sorry that someone has obviously been hurt, but blame the individual who caused the hurt, not everyone gay person who is a part of Spectrum.
#5358 Am I the only one that doesn't give a shred of a flying fuck what the LGBT / gay / spectrum people do or bitch about? Shut the hell up already
#5357 What people need to recognize is that there is CURRENTLY a group of 6-8 LGBT students who refuse to associate with Spectrum and choose to go to EQUAL at UCF instead because of the ways a few individuals had been treated by those IN CHARGE of the organization. It's not just blaming a group for a member's actions. It's the fact that the two who were given the most responsibility to represent a group abused that power and caused extreme discomfort in other individuals. This only happened a couple years ago. It's not 4 or 5 years ago and those same people are still on the board.
#5356 I'm not in Spectrum. I've never been to a meeting. And I don't identify as LGBT in any way. But just by reading the things on here and on yik yak, it seems clear that the organization is not being very receptive to the struggles of LGBT students. It's more than a little ironic to hear people deny the criticism against Spectrum when the accusations are that Spectrum won't listen to other perspectives. From the perspective of an outsider, you're reactions are reinforcing all the negative things people have said. You're definitely not helping your own cause.