More than 40 people gathered at the Civil War Monument to share stories, raise awareness and send a call to action around trans and queer injustices in the world.
Forty to fifty students gathered on College Green surrounding the Civil War Monument for Ohio University’s LGBT Center “Rally for Trans and Queer Justice” in memory of Leelah Alcorn and in wanting to make a difference.
The rally, which took place Friday afternoon, featured speakers sharing their experiences, poems, and urging culture and the Ohio University campus and administration to change.
The gathering was partially in remembrance of Alcorn, a transgender teen who committed suicide after not being accepted by her family and society.
Alcorn, from Cincinnati, stepped in front of traffic on a highway and posted a suicide note on Tumblr. She urged individuals to “fix society.”
Topics of conversation included trans inclusive spaces, funding of OUSAP, acceptance of non-cis identities and awareness around the tragedies affecting LGBTQ individuals. A large portion of the rally also was spent discussing the idea of intersectionality—where race, gender, sexuality and self do not exist alone.
Even with the cold, Delfin Bautista, director of the LGBT Center, was pleased with the turn out.
“That was exciting to see and not the usual suspects,” Bautista said. “There were faces that were new to something that the LGBT Center does which was exciting to see.”
Jesper Beckholt, a fifth-year studying English, brought attention to the Ohio University Survivor Advocacy Program and its outreach program. Beckholt said the programs are becoming better at acceptance of differing identities and said it is concerning that there is no guaranteed funding of the program after its grant expires in October of this year.
Another topic during the rally was the idea of keeping individuals out of the binary or male or female, which Camden Bailey, a sophomore studying history and political science education, touched on while speaking at the rally.
“There aren’t two gender boxes and (not) seeing everything through a hetero-normative lens is something that I want done when it comes to just LGB identities, but when it comes to trans,” Bailey said. “Not putting people in the ‘boy box’ or the ‘girl box.’”
Aspen Wilson, a freshman studying field ecology, came and attended the rally.
“(I’m leaving here) with a little bit more hope,” Wilson said. “A little bit more hope that we can do something together.”
Even though she was nervous, Natalie Danielle Hansen, a recent graduate of OU, said she thinks it is important to have a voice in the trans community and stand up against injustices. Hansen said she agreed with the points brought up about OUSAP, better treatment of trans people and trans people of color, as well as services for trans-identitified individuals. But first and foremost, she said she wants just one thing.
“Don’t treat trans people shittily,” Hansen said.
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