This year’s Social Justice Academy workshops, hosted by the Intercultural Student Affairs office, brought a series of educational and social events intended to celebrate transgender resilience and joy.
From March. 24 to Apr. 1, the six workshops covered a range of topics including trans identity, gender affirming care, and banned books. The International Transgender Day Of Visibility falls on March 31 every year since it was established by trans advocate Rachel Crandall in 2009.
The SJA hosts annual workshops, though it was canceled last year due to the on-campus encampment for Palestine. The Intercultural Student Affairs Office felt that the workshops would not accomplish their goal of celebrating diversity given the tension between students and the administration.
This year, Intercultural Student Affairs decided that celebrating the trans community was crucial—especially in the face of Trump’s administration.
“So many individuals are under attack from our government, including our transgender students,” said Tamia Jordan, director of intercultural affairs. “We need to lean on each other and lean into joy.”
Since his inauguration, President Donald Trump has signed a series of anti-transgender executive orders banning trans health care, identity, and military personnel. Recently, on March 28, a judge blocked the administration’s attempt to ban trans and non-binary people from serving in the U.S. military. The Trump administration has publicly decried rulings from the federal courts. On March 4, a different judge stopped Trump’s attempted ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
The Trump administration has vowed to take on “activist judges” that block executive action, a move legal experts told Reuters is an unprecedented attack on the country’s historical checks and balances.
The events kicked off on Monday with “Read between the ban,” an event led by Cheryl McGrath, director of the Iwasaki Library, the event centered around encouraging students to read and advocate for banned books.
On March 25, “Supporting all identities: Gender Affirming Care at Emerson College” was hosted by Emerson Wellness Center in the Beard Room in Piano Row. The attendees, which consisted solely of faculty members, listened and asked questions to Emerson RN Nurse Eli Bobrowich and staff clinician Channing Davisson. They shared available resources and support services for students seeking Gender Affirming Care through the school.
Students seeking hormones, or other forms of GAC, meet with both health and counseling services to achieve their goals.
“We work with people, not parts,” said Davisson. “We’re working with people in a holistic way.”
Both Davisson and Bobrowich explained the different services the Wellness Center offers, including injection training, assistance with name changes, and thorough counseling focused on both short and long term challenges.
“We promote Emerson as a place of equality and diversity, and somewhere where we’re accepting of all identities,” said Davisson. “We’re really trying to further that and talk about these important intersectional identities that people hold.”
Also in attendance was Brandin Dear, the assistant vice president of campus health and wellness, and Marin Smith, the associate director of counseling. In interviews with The Beacon, they said they hoped the event spread awareness of different resources that are available to students, and teach them how to access them.
“It can be really important to just spread the word that, yes, we do exist, and here’s what we do,” said Smith. “We’re not just some office with a name. There are people that work there, and this is who they are, and it just makes things more accessible and approachable for students, we hope.”
The following day, March 26, was a “Trans Identity Micro Workshop,” put on by the Social Justice Collaborative, Healing and Advocacy, Intercultural Student Affairs, and Theyta for Faculty and Staff which both celebrated transgender and non-binary identity, as well as discussed how to practice proper allyship. Staff and faculty members attended a Zoom meeting that hosted open discussions on gender expression and the importance of having safe spaces.
Following the workshops earlier in the week, SJA also hosted TS Madison at City Winery on Wednesday night, as well as a mixer on Friday night at VIVA karaoke with EAGLE and Theyta. The SJA closed off with a drag brunch with EME on Tuesday.
