American River College students gathered in ARC’s UNITE Center on April 8 to share their support for ARC’s LGBTQ+ community, particularly in support of the trans students on campus.
The event started with speeches from faculty and student supporters which led to half an hour of sign creation to prepare for a march around campus at 1 p.m.
Bailey Dillon, an art major at ARC, spoke openly about the measures that allies can take to show support for the LGBTQ+ community during their speech that opened the event.
“Challenge their bigotry as casually as they offer it,” Dillon said.
The march focused not only on trans rights and representation on the ARC campus, but also on showing that the trans community stands with all communities impacted by the current political climate, according to Sara Silverman-Smith, one of the faculty members associated with the event.
The UNITE Center’s open space was filled with tables and supporters representing ARC’s faculty, staff, and student body. When the opening speeches about the struggles trans students face due to the current political climate finished, the focus switched to what the students wanted to write on their signs. “Freedom to be Me” and “Black Trans Lives Matter” found colorful representation on poster boards as the students worked. Sosa, an art major who uses a mononym, worked on one such sign.
“It was a larger turnout than I expected,” Sosa said. “It’s energetic.”
The event was conceived and organized by students in the queer and trans student coalition, which meets every first and fourth Tuesday of the month at 1:30 p.m. in the UNITE Center.
Bree Johnson, one of the founders of the event and a member of the queer and trans coalition, expressed enthusiasm that the one place which has been very supportive of their community, as well as all impacted communities, has been the UNITE Center.
“A lot of horrible things are going on in the government right now and a lot of ARC’s policies don’t prioritize trans students in their language, ARC needs to do more to protect trans students,” Johnson said.
At 1:30 p.m. the march started, a winding path around all of the ARC campus with various chants and calls, not only for trans and queer rights and awareness, but for support of black lives, Palestine, and calls to end deportation and occupation. Observers of the march met it with a mix of responses from raised thumbs in support and clapping, to looks of confusion and laughter.
As the march concluded back in the UNITE Center, one observer could be heard saying in response: “It’s nice to see a protest. While they still exist.”
