SU celebrates Trans Week of Liberation amidst growing threats to transgender rights

This past week, the Syracuse University LGBTQ+ Resource Center celebrated its Trans Week of Liberation (TWoL) in the lead up to International Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31.

This year’s events included collaborative workshops with the Barnes Center, Student Association and Hendricks Chapel. On Monday, a “Thriving Through Adversity” panel discussion concluded the week, featuring members of the Syracuse community who discussed various aspects of trans visibility and supporting fellow trans students, faculty and staff. 

The panel included David Laudisi, a board member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Syracuse, and Brenne Sheehan, a sophomore and president of the Syracuse chapter of the Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists, alongside Barnes Center staff. 

The panel and the previous week’s workshops focused on gender-affirming care and practices. The collaborative, empowerment-focused workshops included a trans-inclusive pleasure conversation, a free gender-affirming clothing drive and a therapeutic writing workshop.

As campuses continue to uplift and empower transgender students, the conversation also shifts to the growing threats against the community, particularly in higher education. 

Since President Donald Trump re-entered the White House in January, his administration has authorized numerous attacks on transgender Americans. During his first month, he signed an executive order eliminating federal funding for schools that promoted “indoctrination” based on “gender ideology.” In March, the State Department began to issue passports solely with a male or female marker that corresponds to the person’s biological sex. 

Tyler Sliker, the Clinic Director at Falk College, touched on the challenges of legal transition and affirmation in the current political landscape. 

“Getting legal names and documentation in order is a particularly fraught endeavor in the current climate,” Sliker said. “There’s safety concerns if you’ve got a state issued ID that has one name and gender, and you have a different one at the federal level. Folks are stuck in this limbo territory.” 

More recently, the federal government also suspended $175M in funding to the University of Pennsylvania over the school’s inclusive policy towards transgender athletes. 

Despite the looming threat of the Trump administration, students are still increasingly using trans-inclusive and gender-affirming services offered by the Barnes Center, according to Associate Director of Fitness Alena Anthony 

“From a program standpoint, our program numbers have been the highest they’ve ever been,” Anthony said.“People are coming to use fitness as a coping mechanism [and] looking for that community feel. It’s been really nice to see our students utilizing what we have and creating space with each other.” 

Additionally, Sheehan, citing her background in data journalism, emphasized the importance of prioritizing data that reflects trans populations when fighting against misinformation and blatant attacks. 

“I think [it’s] really important that we start enforcing and emphasizing the need to collect data that reflects trans and gender non-conforming populations when we talk about trans athletes and sports,” Sheehan said. “When we talk about ideas like transgender criminalization, there is a lack of data that supports the pieces that come out of it. So, I think it’s really important to advocate for SOGI, meaning sexual orientation and gender identity data collection.”