Reading the fact that in the 2016-2017 Siena Climate student survey that 100% of transgender students said they faced some sort of harassmnet and/or discrimination on campus disgusted me. We are always talking about how great our school is, how accepting it is of all people. A student who goes to Siena is called a "Saint." To treat someone with disrespect because they are transgender is not what a Saint would do. We are meant to treat all people with kindness and respect. To go out of our way to help others and lift them up, not to bring them down. It makes me so angry knowing that our transgender brothers and sisters faced any sort of bias/discrimination/harassment on campus. I just see no reason why a person should be treated differently because they are transgender. In what way does a student/peer being transgender have any effect on you? Why would it warrant such a hateful response? I understand that the world is not perfect and college campuses are not Utopias. However, there is no reason that a person should receive any sort of backlash because they are transgender. Knowing that 100% of Siena students had personally experienced some kind of bias/harassment/discrimination on campus due to their gender identity is not okay and things need to change.
I think something that can be done to help this issue is to educate people. There are so many people who because they don't understand what it means to be transgender/why a person is transgender they will lash out at it. There needs to be some kind of educational tool where people can ask questions without the fear that they are being hurtful or just a way to inform people about gender identity/struggles. Sometimes Google is not enough and actually getting to speak with people who understand these issues can be extremely helpful. Transgender people can be villainized, especially in religious institutions. By answering questions and allowing a safe space to learn and understand what being transgender is could be really helpful. Another idea that I got from the U.S. transgender survey is to have a support system for transgender students/faculty on campus. I will be honest, I don't know what the support system is like already on campus. I know we have counseling and such but maybe if there was someone there who specialized in transgender issues or something could be helpful. People who are transgender obviously face different issues than people who are cisgender. We witnessed some of that in the TED talk by Paula Stone Williams and the realization she had about life as a woman after she had lived as a man for so long. I think no matter what something needs to be done and Siena needs to work on being fully inclusive. Actions need to be taken to make transgender students/faculty feel comfortable and safe on campus. It is easy to preach kindness and compassion, but there need to be tools implemented so that these things are actually happening. Saints need to learn to live up to the name and actually treat everyone with kindness and respect.
Hi Bri,
ReplyDeleteI agree that eduction will help us, as students, better understand and become accepting of one another. I like your point that Siena needs to work on being fully inclusive. Our university is responsible for providing students with a "safe space" where they can study and flourish. Without the bare minimum, which is the feeling of safety, students will not be able to succeed in what they do.
Hi Bri,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely that it is ironic to call ourselves Saints when transgender students on campus do not feel safe and respected by their peers. I have a similar response when I read statistics like this, as I wonder how a transgender person's identity could possibly affect other people to the point where they feel the need to harass or verbally abuse them. I also agree that education is the best way to change this statistic. You clearly stated what Siena College faculty or students should do to ensure that transgender students feel safe on campus, through the support network and educational question tool. I especially liked the example you gave of the educational tool to ask questions, as I had never considered that as an option. (I was also wondering if faculty or students would be in charge of this tool?) However, I am still wondering specifically how you think should we go about educating the general Siena student population about this topic? On top of the question tool and transgender support system (which are two wonderful ideas I had not considered), do you think all Siena students should have a baseline education on transgender issues? What could that look like, and how would Siena students who do not ask questions through the educational tool you suggested learn about how to be an ally to the transgender community at Siena? Overall, really insightful blog post and I liked your innovative ideas to improve Siena's inclusivity!