What Inspires You about North Dakota?
I reflect on what has inspired me throughout my life and what continues to inspire me going forward. Even as we see terrible rhetoric both nationally and locally, the more we connect to community and the more we focus on what inspires us, the more we can built a better tomorrow together. |
Letter: The legend of Martin Luther King Jr. lives on Six decades later we still quote and celebrate the life of a man who preached unity, challenged institutional structures of racism, and fought to his death for a better world. Today we have an opportunity to continue that legacy and carry it forward! |
Be the Hope Others Need Suicide can be preventable, but it requires us talking about it in open, non-judgmental, and honest ways, providing support and resources to people struggling, and thinking about how our actions lead to harm or joy spreading through communities |
Family and Advocates Continue to Fight "When I look at the outcome and impact of this, I'm always looking at it through a lens of safety and accessibility," Seidler said. "How do we make sure these kids feel safe and feel secure enough to talk to us about some of these things so we can get them help? Whether they be trans or cis, whether they be straight or gay, do our kids feel safe to get the help that they need?" |
Suicide Prevention Advocate to Speak in Fargo The League of Women Voters of the Red River Valley will hold a public information event on Friday, Nov. 3, featuring a suicide prevention advocate specializing in LGBTQ+ populations. Guest speaker Faye Seidler will give her talk at noon at the Sons of Norway, 722 2nd Ave. N., Fargo. This presentation is part of the group's First Friday Series on the strengths of diversity in our communities. |
The Challenges of Modern Journalism Today we see the burn out in the fourth estate. We see papers shrinking, fewer reporters turning up, and tight deadlines for stories, all while competing with whatever conjecture and opinion exists online. It’s hard to get people invested in real local news when all sorts of flashy news-like entertainment with no integrity saturates our lives for free. |
A Time to Celebrate Libraries With as much work as I do across the state with suicide prevention, I think what we need more than anything is reinvesting in communities. The more we all care about and get involved with public schools, libraries, or civic engagement the stronger our communities become. |
A Tourist's View of Grand Forks Pride The Grand Fork's Celebration of Pride was so incredible and beautiful. It was the first time I've celebrated pride outside of Fargo and everyone was so kind and welcoming to me during the duration of my trip there. I can't recommend it enough! |
You Deserve Help and You Really Do Matter A letter to the editor reminding everyone about September being our Suicide Prevention Month and all the great things happening. I speak about hope, like I often do. I speak about our 988 number. I speak about how we should talk about all of this more and celebrate each other where possible. |
(Special Edition) Marching Towards Hope I write about my journey to becoming Grand Marshal, why I stepped into the role this year, and what I want out of the work I do. I'm always fighting to make sure no youth has to experience the same hardships I did. I'm always striving for hope for everyone who makes North Dakota their home. And the way we get there is together. |
Let's Keep Trans Kids Safe We so often get into the weeds about rights, that we sometimes lose the fact that real children feel scared and alone right now because of the laws we've passed in our state. Even if we consider what we've done legally just, where is the mercy for trans youth? What systems ensure their safety and happiness? Can't we continue to fight for that even within the framework of our new laws? |
Navigating Safety in Times of Terror In considerations with the local shooting in Fargo, the terrorism impacting LGBTQ+ individuals and the violence impacting many communities, I reflect on how we can cope and move forward in such challenging times. We can take efforts to mitigate danger, make plans for death, and reduce anxiety. |
Libraries Should Be Places of Joy It is important to understand that "culture wars" are a marketing tool to help people sell books. I advocate in this article that we can all share joy without fighting each other and I'm offended at people using the beauty of faith and learning to attack LGBTQ+ people |
Local Journalist Covers Pride Events I spoke to C.S. Hagen about my involvement as the Grand Marshal for the Pride events. We talked about the political culture, the difficulty journalists have in covering these topics, and how we can find some way forward. |
Those Pushing Transgender Bills North Dakota A comprehensive breakdown of the transgender bills in North Dakota for the 2023 session. With everything said and done it was only really 5 lawmakers, 2 districts, and 2 lobbyist that accounted for all of the bills. |
The F-M Juneteenth Celebration was Incredible A letter highlighting just how amazing the Juneteenth event was for centering black excellence and building community. Organized by Freds Dissonance we got a glimpse at both what a better future and Fargo-Moorhead can look like. |
Assessing Gender Affirming Care after Rulings I spoke to Mike Moen with Prairie Public News about where medical care was now for trans youth. While it is unconstitutional within every court that's heard it, without a lawsuit in ND, that doesn't strictly matter. While it was a shorter piece, within our discussions I tried to encourage parents take their youth to therapy, because that's something all parents can get behind. |
The North Dakota Bus Ride Looking at the world through the lens of those who ride the bus and wondering if our leaders are connected to the daily struggles therein. I suggest that if people want a better world, we should all get more civically involved and not only that, our government would benefit from a more diverse set of representatives. |
Government Overreach A thorough investigative look at the life of HB 1254, the trans medical ban, and comparing that to previous stated Republican values of personal freedom and limited government. With an appeal for representatives that follow data, I encourage more individuals to get involved with the civic process - regardless of party. |
How To Keep Trans Youth Safe This Letter to the Editor was sent out to each paper after the passing of the trans medical ban. The hope was to make sure people didn't become hopeless. That there were options and choices for them to make sure their kid was going to stay safe. (Behind a paywall, please email for article) |
How To End The Culture Wars A piece looking at the strange behavior of the legislative session and calling for an approach of unity and respect by recognizing most people are good. We cannot heal or move to the future until we start trusting in each other again and appealing to what makes us the same, rather than what makes us different. (Typo in beginning, word should read "appealing") |
There is Hope in North Dakota This Letter to the Editor I talk about what gives me hope for North Dakota. I talk about all the money going into suicide prevention, the suicide fatality review commission, and that we were on our way towards feeding kids. I talk about 988 being important and that no matter what the world looks like there is hope in it. |
Faye Seidler Discusses LGBTQ+ Bills I discuss broad considerations about the LGBTQ+ bills with the reporter Frank Stanko. One thing I continue to highlight is you cannot tokenize people due to just their political party or faith. The way people understand, related, or talk about these bills is individualistic and we should strive to understand that in our conversations. (Article does have paygate - email if interested) |
The Choices LGBTQ+ Youth Make A Letter to the Editor reframing the idea that youth choose an LGBTQ+ identity. The reality for most of these kids is their LGBTQ+ identity is not a choice, but who they come out is. The safer they feel in speaking honestly about their feelings, the more likely a child will talk about them. |
Giving Hope to North Dakota Queer Youth An article look at how LGBTQ+ youth are doing in North Dakota, but framing it with the ways we can have a positive impact. This story covers some of the incident that happened with UND, comments made from Grand Forks Mayor, and perspective for how to really impact the people in your life. |
Many LGBTQ+ Youth are Moving Out of the State I contributed data and perspective to the problem of our LGBTQ+ youth leaving our state and not returning. The article itself focuses on a broader perspective of folks from across North Dakota. |
North Dakota Is Failing Queer Youth A comprehensive article looking at the school climate for LGBTQ+ youth. This article features the data showing the negative outcomes for our LGBTQ+ youth, the attempts to create change within the school systems, the stories of queer youth, and the solutions to achieve better outcomes. Content Warning Suicide - Dial 988 for Mental Health Crisis |
North Dakota Is a Hell for LGBTQ+ People This article features the stories of eight LGBTQ+ individuals who have left North Dakota and are likely not going to come back. It talks about what skills they left with them, how difficult the decision was, and how much better they're doing now that they've gotten out of North Dakota. |
GSA Initative: Help Needed Article discussing the needs for Gender and Sexuality Alliances in schools and the calls for school teachers, principals, and administrators to help met the gap. Research from The 2015 National School Climate Survey to hammer home the discrepancies in outcomes these students faced. |
Trans Healthcare is the Next Focus LGBTQ+ Folks Local activist talks about the next big thing after marriage equality. She talks about trans healthcare and believes that Donald Trump is likely to win the presidency, followed by a Biden Administration. She also warns that a lack of safety precautions now could lead to a global pandemic. |