Allendale, MI – The Progressive Student Union at Grand Valley State University held a teach-in event on Queer and Trans liberation on Monday, September 29. Despite attempts by the GVSU administration and the Office of Student Life to prevent the students from gathering by demanding $380 out of the students to use a room on campus, the PSU successfully held the event in the Arboretum outdoor park space on campus without disruption.

Activists with the Progressive Student Union and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization spoke at the event. The PSU speaker highlighted many trans activists throughout history, such as Marsha P. Johnson and Leslie Feinberg, and how these people contributed to building the mass movements for LGBTQ liberation. A FRSO member then explained how individuals like Feinberg combined the struggle for LGBTQ liberation with the revolutionary struggle to bring down monopoly capitalism, as well as how strict gender roles and transphobia are products of class societies. Leslie Feinberg was a member of the Worker’s World Party during her lifetime.

Dorian Fedewa, representing Progressive Student Union at the event stated, “Trans students like myself are offered empty words of validation and pronoun pins at the counseling center, which feels like a sharp slap in the face after witnessing GV’s administration cave to far-right bigots by taking down a mural with pro-trans messaging outside the LGBT Resource Center, hosting an insane transphobic speaker without offering a university-wide statement of solidarity to its trans students, and now, with this event, pricing us out of a room to present in. I think having this event and receiving this pushback from admin clearly shows where they stand on protecting their trans students, if it doesn’t involve something as non-committal as wearing a pin or sticker, they would happily throw every one of us to the dogs.”

After the presentation, the students engaged in a discussion on the historical and present struggles which are faced by the trans community in the United States. One student in attendance spoke extensively to the gathered students on the problem of transmisogyny, the gender oppression faced by transfemme people both within and outside the trans community.

“Many trans men and non-binary people view their experiences as AFAB [assigned female at birth]/female and use their perceived female and girlhood pasts and previous experiences to separate themselves from trans women. This reliance on AGAB language often results in transmisogyny as trans women are frequently perceived as AMAB [assigned male at birth]/male, and their experience as women/girls/females is often dismissed, sidelined, and demonized due to their perceived male upbringing,” said S’Niyah Tate.

The discussion was vibrant and educational, giving students a space to gather and discuss queer and trans issues during a time when the university administration is increasingly unwilling to provide any space. The administration at GVSU appears much more inclined to appeal to the Trump administration than to stand up for its LGBTQ students. Students continue to organize themselves for the progressive changes which they want to see, on and off campus.

#AllendaleMI #MI #LGBTQ #StudentMovement #GVSPSU

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