I would really like to thank Davy Knittle for raising a very important point in the last Argus edition. The first issue is that the Trans Day of Remembrance display focused on the manner of death of individuals and not their stories. This was partly because the stories of all those killed within the last year, which we normally write out completely, were not findable in time for the display to go up. Needless to say, we put up as much of the information we could find. Unfortunately, much of the power was lost in the process. A more important issue Davy raises, however, is the lack of discourse about the installation. Where were the spaces for conversation and understanding for Trans Day of Remembrance? Or better, why were there none?
As one of the organizers, I can say this was something we had discussed at more than one meeting. It never happened because all of the organizers were incredibly pressed for time. We focused on getting the display up and our message across, but those of us who had discussed holding dialogues about the day simply did not have the time to organize it. So, I would like to pose a question to the all those who agree with Davy’s sentiments: why did you not help create a forum to contextualize this day?
Be it attending planning meetings or simply the regular Trans/Gender Group meetings, the only way for these things to happen are for students to make them happen. Maybe that seems obvious, but there are very few of us organizing these events, and we have lives, too. I want to be able to sit back and simply participate at events and actions, but that means there must be people stepping up to take the lead. Far too often, the same people take the lead time and time again for various actions. So, please, if this is how you feel, get involved in some way. Even if you don’t take active leadership roles, simply attending meetings to put in your ideas and helping events take place will enable far more events to occur and more understanding to be reached.
One final note is that there is a space for the Trans and other gender-nonconforming communities to come together on campus. Trans/Gender Group meetings are there for that very purpose, and although the meetings are not directly in conjunction with the display, it is a space designed for these communities to come together. Many of these issues are resolvable, but if you care for them to be resolved, the best way to do it is to get involved.
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