In line with Trans Remembrance Day, the OU LGBT Center will hold events all week for Trans Education Week.
Just because Ohio University's LGBT Center will host Trans Education Week with the theme of "Transforming OUr Dialogue," that doesn't mean the conversation will stop at the end of the week.
“I capitalized the OU as a way of signaling we need to shift the conversation on campus to be inclusive of trans people,” delfin bautista, director of the LGBT Center, said. “The goal is we don’t want this to be the only time that trans identities are discussed. It is an opportunity to discuss the realities of trans people, but with a mindfulness that we will also discuss trans folk throughout the rest of the year.”
The week, formerly known as Trans Empowerment Week, will feature events ranging from discussions about identity, film screenings and a Trans Remembrance Vigil.
On Monday, Michelle Vaughn, an associate professor of psychology at University of Mount Union, will hold a workshop about identity and discussion of trans people as “superheroes.”
Later in the day, trans activist JAC Stringer will hold a workshop in the Multicultural Center about gender and societal recognition.
The LGBT Center will hold a free lunch Tuesday along with a discussion with Dr. Jane Balbo of Campus Care. Last year, a one-hour lecture called, “Providing Primary Care To Transgender Patients” was implemented into the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine’s curriculum, according to a previous Post report.
“I’m looking forward to discussions,” bautista, who uses they/them pronouns and prefers the lowercase spelling of their name, said. “Historically, trans people have been left out of the conversation, so it’s a way of introducing resources to trans students who may not be mindful of the resources they have access to.”
Wednesday’s events include a free lunch and discussion on trans identities and sexual violence, featuring the Survivor Advocacy Outreach Program at 12 p.m. Additionally, the LGBT Center will hold a screening of Paris Is Burning, a documentary focusing on drag queen house cultures in New York City, at 5 p.m.
On Thursday, the center will hold a Trans Remembrance Vigil on College Green. The vigil overlaps with the International Transgender Day of Remembrance. After the vigil, there will be a debrief at Galbreath Chapel at 7 p.m.
At the event, names of trans individuals who have died in the past year will be read, Sarah Jenkins, program coordinator for the LGBT Center, said.
“Across the country, we have an epidemic right now of trans women of color being murdered,” Jenkins said. “It’s staggering, the numbers, and it’s heartbreaking. I think it’s incredibly important that we’re saying those names, that we’re not letting them go by without being recognized.”
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LGBT Center staff member Sarah Grote, who prefers they/them pronouns, added that the vigil is generally the most powerful event of Trans Education Week.
“That’s always a really powerful emotional event that hits home for people,” Grote, a senior studying recreation management, said. “It’s a very serious problem in the LGBT community.”
Although in past years, the week usually ended with the trans remembrance vigil, bautista said this year they will continue the trans education with a screening of Riot Acts in the LGBT Center at 4 p.m.
“A lot of folks have been like, ‘Oh you all can get married (now), that’s it,’ ” bautista said. “Trans people need protections, gay, lesbian, bisexual people need additional protections, and so, it’s a way of keeping the conversation going as well as lifting up a community that has traditionally been neglected.”
@rachel_hartwick
