Geoff Chesshire, February 27, 2003
Photo: Jessica Carey

The past year has been a challenging one for the electronic music and dance community, here in New Mexico and all over the U.S. The intense stigmatization of raves by the media and law enforcement in many parts of the country has made it difficult to gather all night to enjoy the music, the dancing, and the feeling of community that raves make possible. In New Mexico, we are thankful that our culture has been shown more respect than elsewhere. However, the effects of this nationwide pressure have been strongly felt even here. Many venue managers have shown reluctance to provide space for our gatherings, and even some of the most conscientious rave promoters have taken a step back, organizing fewer events than they did in previous years. In turn, thousands of the people who form our community either have stayed home, waiting for the high-quality events they pine for, or have attended the remaining events in smaller numbers, hoping in any case to recreate the “vibe” that they fondly remember. Some who are old enough have taken to attending nightclub events more often than raves, even though the alcohol-based economy of nightclubs profoundly alters the experience. This trend tends to segregate and fracture our community along the lines of age, resulting in further disrespect for our youth and stigmatization of our culture. This pressure on our community has even led some to question their participation. Our challenge is to learn from these experiences, and work together to create a healthy and strong community.

The challenges facing our community are opportunities for PartySmart to increase our impact. PartySmart’s mission is to help our youth to create a healthy and strong community, through respect, responsibility, and active participation. By working together as a community, we will overcome these challenges. PartySmart has expanded beyond setting up information booths at raves; we have three major programs underway. Our Rave & Nightclub Health & Safety project has been our bread and butter; we have provided information booths with peer counselors at over 120 raves over the past three years. We are working steadily on our School, College & Community Outreach project, developing materials for classroom presentations, responding to requests for help with drug education from schools all over Northern New Mexico, and participating in statewide school health conferences. For our Youth Advocacy, Law & Policy Reform project, we participate in the New Mexico Alliance for Drug Policy Reform, working closely with the American Civil Liberties Union and the Drug Policy Alliance, and educating voters and legislators about law and policy issues facing youth and our community. In support of DanceSafe nationally, we have helped many other DanceSafe chapters to get started, including one in Southern New Mexico, and we have helped to develop new drug information cards. We hosted the national meeting of DanceSafe chapters in 2001.

PartySmart recently became a non-profit corporation, thanks to the support of our Board of Directors, Geoff Chesshire, Miles Conway, and Victoria Scott. DanceSafe and PartySmart both need your financial support in order to sustain our efforts. For our success, we need your participation in support of our community. We welcome collaborations with other youth-service organizations. Please visit our website, PartySmart.org, for ideas on how you can participate.