Last week, GU Pride elected Celeste Crisholm (COL ’15) as its first ever trans* representative. Members of Pride’s board believe this step will allow them to work more closely with trans* students and cater better to their needs. (“Trans*” serves as an umbrella term that encompasses a diversity of identities that span the gender spectrum.) GU Pride members also said the group plans to cosponsor trans*-related events with the LGBTQ Resource Center during OUTober. They also plan on sponsoring events on the Trans* Day of Remembrance in November.
These are important steps to fight discrimination against the trans* community, and we congratulate GU Pride for taking this necessary step toward inclusivity for trans* students.
Creating a trans* representative for their board will bring more visibility to the trans* community on campus and will undoubtedly make Georgetown a safer and more welcoming place for trans* students. In 2012, 9 out of the 16 bias reports filed on campus dealt with issues of sexual orientation and gender identity. In the coming year, Ms. Chisholm and her fellow board members must rise to the challenges of fostering acceptance and education around trans* issues and ought to play a vocal, public role in representing the trans* community.
GU Pride and the University must remember that, while the coming out of the trans* community is exciting and long-needed, Georgetown has just begun the first steps in a long transformation. The University as a whole must ensure that Georgetown welcomes the entirety of the LGBTQ community, not just white, able-bodied, cisgendered, gay men. While Georgetown has made impressive strides in the recent past towards inclusivity for the LGBTQ community, the University cannot rest on its laurels. Its work is unfinished.
GU Pride and the LGBTQ Resource Center must be sure that OUTober focuses not just on sexual orientation, but also on the interplay of racial, socioeconomic status, ability and gender identities with being LGBTQ. The two organizations are taking steps to put together the pieces of the trans* community by planning trans*-related campus events.
In order to bring genuine change to campus, the LGBTQ resource center and GUPride cannot remain the only support system for LGBTQ students who do not identify according to a male-female gender binary. Gender neutral bathrooms, using prefered names instead of legal names for net IDs, and increasing academic emphasis on gender studies all would bring growth to the Georgetown community. These kinds of changes can only happen with full institutional support, and, until they become a reality, Georgetown cannot call itself truly LGBTQ-friendly.
