F.I.R.M.E. — which stands for focused, involved, radical, motivated, and engaged — is a new club at LMC that promotes positive masculinity for Latino men and encourages them to work toward their educational goals.
The idea for the club came to President Leeroy Rios last semester when he wanted a space to talk about social justice. It also came to his attention that many male members of Puente were not attending events and club meetings. He wanted to start a club that addressed both factors.
Rios said he thinks that machismo, which is similar to toxic masculinity, is a reason why male participation in clubs is so low.
“Especially for us Latino men, it’s part of the machismo aspect,” he said. “You feel like you’re going to be pressured to do stuff or be pressured to ask certain questions, and you just don’t want to get out of your comfort zone.”
Rios explained that machismo arose during colonization and has stayed in Latino culture ever since. His goal for the club is to “decolonize” minds by showing that the toxic male mindset was not always present and doesn’t have to be now.
He added that, by learning about pre-Hispanic cultures, the narrative for what Latino men can achieve is broadened.
“If you look back you see how we were great mathematicians, great astronomers, [we had] great medical work,” Rios said. “It’s insane like we could be much more than what we limit ourselves to.”
Co-Vice President Joel Estrada felt that joining would help him get more involved in the male community and make a positive difference.
“I just thought it’d be a great opportunity for me to be a part of and to help people sort of deconstruct a lot of toxic mindsets that come with masculinity,” Estrada said.
He added that he hopes to replace machismo with caballerismo, a chivalrous and family-oriented mindset.
“It’s sort of swapping out that idea of ‘you have to work’ with ‘you should go to school so you can provide later in life for yourself and for your future family,’” Estrada said.
The club also focuses on promoting positive mental health. To practice this, members celebrate each other’s accomplishments during meetings.
“When we think of mental health, we think of achieving our dreams and goals,” Rios said. “Our dreams are so high, but I think by celebrating small victories it uplifts us, and it helps us keep each other up. And it can be anything. It can literally be like, ‘I was happy this week.’”
Rios drew inspiration from Andrew Murphy, program coordinator for Brothers of Excellence, a program at LMC that promotes academic success for black male students. Murphy was once an LMC student, and from his experience, he said he wasn’t aware of any type of support services on campus.
“I wish at the time there was a mentor or somebody that could help support me,” Murphy said.
BOEP is similar to F.I.R.M.E. in terms of its goal: supporting male students from underrepresented backgrounds. Following Murphy’s example, Rios wants to elevate F.I.R.M.E. to be a place of community where their students can turn to and find a support system.
F.I.R.M.E. Advisor Robert Delgado joined the club because he understood the potential it had to become a space for Latino students, as well as the goals Rios and Estrada had for it.
“My goal [for F.I.R.M.E.] is for any student that comes to LMC to leave as a better individual,” Delgado said.
Estrada and Rios want the club to leave a long-lasting impact at LMC. They hope it remains active for the foreseeable future, and that it spreads to other colleges.
The F.I.R.M.E. club meets biweekly on Thursdays from 1 to 2 p.m. in room 215 of the Student Union. Their next meeting is scheduled for April 4.
