2008 Woodie Awards
Growth and renewal rise from tragedy
Kiefer, Sally
Issue date: 3/5/08 Section: Campus
Eric Rofes, an activist of progressive social justice issues and professor of education at Humboldt State University, passed away in June of 2006. His affect at Humboldt State is still being felt.
On Saturday, March 8, a new resource center will be dedicated in his memory. It will happen during the 2008 Social Justice Summit at Humboldt State, an evolution of his North Coast Education Summit. The center will be an umbrella group for the Queer Student Union, The Family, and will be connected to Queer Humboldt.
Nora Wynne was a colleague, friend, and student of Rofes. She is in the graduate program in education at Humboldt State. She worked with him in activism. "He was totally effective at everything he did. He was a visionary that had his feet solid on the ground," Wynne said. "He believed fiercely in the democratic process and was a firm believer in coalition building. He was busy all the time, publishing papers, going to conferences. He was a prolific writer and was always writing."
Rofes was the foremost author in education and Queer Liberation, writing 12 books, and was one of the first teachers to come out as homosexual when he lived in Massachusetts. He started the queer studies minor at Humboldt State and was an advocate in the departments of women's studies, ethnic studies, leadership studies, the community, and environment.
"He was a model of a teacher," Wynne said. "He practiced what he preached. He was super driven. He wanted you to do your best and believed in the best you could do. He was just amazing. He left a humongous hole here. It will be hard to fill that void without him."
Porscha Cobbs, a junior at Humboldt State studying social work, said the new resource center will be in the spirit of Eric Rofes because it is about coming out of your comfort zone to organize and make something happen.
"It is a space for students to talk about issues that are important to them when there is no other place to express that," Cobbs said. "It is a space for students to access resources that are harder to get on campus. A place to find out what's going in our community, a support system for students."
Patrick Malloy is a senior at Humboldt State with a religious studies major and a minor in queer studies. He wrote the grant for the new Eric Rofes center and said it is modeled after the Women's Resource Center. He said the center will be a place to get access to information, books, and community information. The center will host events and inform people of social events like Humboldt Pride, National Coming Out Day, and the Day of Silence.
The Eric Rofes center will celebrate its grand opening with a barbeque and ribbon cutting on Saturday, March 8, at 4 p.m. in the parking lot of the MultiCultural Center. Some of Rofes' colleagues and friends will be in attendance. Among them will be poet and hip hop artist Tim 'M West, who will give an opening address for the event.
On Saturday, March 8, a new resource center will be dedicated in his memory. It will happen during the 2008 Social Justice Summit at Humboldt State, an evolution of his North Coast Education Summit. The center will be an umbrella group for the Queer Student Union, The Family, and will be connected to Queer Humboldt.
Nora Wynne was a colleague, friend, and student of Rofes. She is in the graduate program in education at Humboldt State. She worked with him in activism. "He was totally effective at everything he did. He was a visionary that had his feet solid on the ground," Wynne said. "He believed fiercely in the democratic process and was a firm believer in coalition building. He was busy all the time, publishing papers, going to conferences. He was a prolific writer and was always writing."
Rofes was the foremost author in education and Queer Liberation, writing 12 books, and was one of the first teachers to come out as homosexual when he lived in Massachusetts. He started the queer studies minor at Humboldt State and was an advocate in the departments of women's studies, ethnic studies, leadership studies, the community, and environment.
"He was a model of a teacher," Wynne said. "He practiced what he preached. He was super driven. He wanted you to do your best and believed in the best you could do. He was just amazing. He left a humongous hole here. It will be hard to fill that void without him."
Porscha Cobbs, a junior at Humboldt State studying social work, said the new resource center will be in the spirit of Eric Rofes because it is about coming out of your comfort zone to organize and make something happen.
"It is a space for students to talk about issues that are important to them when there is no other place to express that," Cobbs said. "It is a space for students to access resources that are harder to get on campus. A place to find out what's going in our community, a support system for students."
Patrick Malloy is a senior at Humboldt State with a religious studies major and a minor in queer studies. He wrote the grant for the new Eric Rofes center and said it is modeled after the Women's Resource Center. He said the center will be a place to get access to information, books, and community information. The center will host events and inform people of social events like Humboldt Pride, National Coming Out Day, and the Day of Silence.
The Eric Rofes center will celebrate its grand opening with a barbeque and ribbon cutting on Saturday, March 8, at 4 p.m. in the parking lot of the MultiCultural Center. Some of Rofes' colleagues and friends will be in attendance. Among them will be poet and hip hop artist Tim 'M West, who will give an opening address for the event.
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