As legislation changes across the country, many members of the LGBTQIA+ community are concerned with finding resources and safe spaces. This is especially true for transgender individuals who may face discrimination as a result of the new administration’s policy and values.
As many as 550 anti-trans bills will be under consideration in 2025, according to the Trans Legislation Tracker. Eight of these bills have already been passed in seven states.
Organizations at OU and across Athens are working hard to provide safe spaces for trans students, including Victory Earley, a junior studying classical civilizations. Earley recently revived Swarm of Dykes, a club initially founded on campus in 1997.
“With everything going on right now, especially affecting the queer community, it seemed like such an important time to have some sort of revolutionary group like Swarm of Dykes doing political action and community mutual aid,” Earley said.
Swarm of Dykes began as a group committed to lesbian visibility and protesting against all forms of homophobia. With the revival, the group has shifted to fight against all forms of oppression, specifically oppression against the queer community.
“We're working on trying to focus our gaze on what we want to do, especially with (Ohio’s Senate Bill 1) looking like it's going to go through,” Earley said.
Ohio’s SB 1 would ban any form of diversity, equity and inclusion offices, departments, orientations and training. Any DEI efforts would be made illegal if the bill is passed.
For OU, this would mean potentially losing the Multicultural Center, Pride Center and Women’s Center, among other initiatives. Losing these organizations would be detrimental to students who rely on these resources and support systems.
“If SB 1 does pass, we're going to lose safe spaces,” Earley said. “People are going to lose their jobs. It's going to be a big deal, and it's going to be scary for a lot of people in the queer and trans community.”
Adrien Legarth, a sophomore studying theater production, is president of the T.R.A.N.S. Student Group.
“I've been in (the group) since I got to OU … and it was primarily for building community,” Legarth said. “I have continued that space for people to just tune all of the loud noise out and chill and be themselves and talk to people and find community.”
The group talks very little about legislation and politics during its meetings, if at all. Finding a space to get away from political buzz is equally as important as action, Legarth said.
“With a bunch of things changing, it's hard to have a constant thing to look forward to, because everything's so up in the air,” Legarth said. “That certainty of knowing I'm going to be able to go to this space and it's going to be nice and relaxing and I can chill and be myself, I think that that's a very important thing to have.”
Many off-campus organizations also provide safe places for members of the LGBTQIA+ community, including Passion Works.
Passion Works is a collaborative art studio located just off OU’s campus at 20 E. State St. Tanner Ingle is an artist in residence and volunteer coordinator at Passion Works who graduated from OU in 2017.
“Our larger mission is to have a radically inclusive space where regardless of any individual's gender, ability, ethnicity, race, everybody here is accepted and we do not turn anybody away ever,” Ingle said. “We want to celebrate everybody, all of our differences because all of those differences are what makes the world a unique, special place.”
