UPDATE 3/30: Participants are advised that the ISU Police Department will be providing support at road crossings. Additionally, two plain clothes officers will accompany the group at a distance. A reporter from The Vidette and photographer from University Communication and Marketing will also be present; they have been asked to focus on leaders of the sashay. Those who do not wish to be photographed are encouraged to join at the back of the group.
Queer Coalition, a faculty, staff, and graduate student affinity group at Illinois State University, will celebrate Transgender Day of Visibility on Thursday, March 30, with a sashay around campus. The group will begin gathering at 4:30 p.m. at the Multicultural Center and depart at 4:45 p.m. From there, they will cross South Main Street and South University Street, then turn right, completing a clockwise circuit of the Quad before returning to the Multicultural Center for remarks, refreshments, and community building. Interim President Aondover Tarhule, Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer Doris Houston, and Queer Coalition Co-President Gavin Weiser will speak.
Participants are encouraged to express their creativity and individuality with highly visible and colorful clothing. All are welcome to attend.
Transgender Day of Visibility has been celebrated since 2009 in order to highlight the accomplishments and survival of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people around the world as well as to draw attention to the transphobia and inequity faced by this minoritized group. On Transgender Day of Visibility last year, President Joe Biden issued a proclamation from the White House stating that “on this day and every day, we recognize the resilience, strength, and joy of transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming people. We celebrate the activism and determination that have fueled the fight for transgender equality. We acknowledge the adversity and discrimination that the transgender community continues to face across our Nation and around the world.”
