More than 40 Syracuse University community members rallied on the Quad Wednesday to protest a federal proposal that would require agencies to define gender as biological and unchangeable, effectively removing legal protections for transgender and non-binary people.

Transgender and gender non-conforming students who spoke at the protest on the Quad said they were angry and scared, but not surprised, after hearing about the Department of Health and Human Services memo that outlined the proposed redefinition, which was initially reported by The New York Times on Oct. 21. Many students said being openly transgender is always terrifying, even on “liberal” college campuses.

“Trans people live and trans people deserve to be protected,” said Eli Blodgett, a sophomore stage management major. “We will not be silenced.”

Blodgett, who identifies as transgender, disabled and queer, said the only way they have handled President Donald Trump’s election is to “turn trauma and pain into something you can do.”

The push to redefine gender is Trump’s latest move to limit legal protections for transgender people.

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In February 2017, the Trump administration rolled back President Barack Obama’s order that schools and universities that receive federal funding allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their choosing. Trump also signed an executive order in March 2018 banning transgender people from serving in the U.S. military, and the Justice Department has reversed protections of gay and transgender people in federal prisons.

Under the guidelines outlined in the memo, which was written in the spring, federal agencies relating to education and health care would determine gender “on a biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable,” according to the Times article. The memo states that disputes about an agency’s recognition of someone’s gender identity would be resolved through genetic testing, which has long been used to delegitimize transgender identities.

Rowan McGrath, a SUNY-ESF student and member of SU’s chapter of the International Socialist Organization, held a sign that read, “We have existed long before the laws that limit us.” McGrath wore a Halloween costume of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and ecstasy, as they spoke on the steps on Hendricks Chapel.

“Gender non-conforming people have existed all throughout history,” McGrath said. “We have even existed in societies that don’t like us.”

McGrath said the mere existence of transgender people and their support of each other is “radical and revolutionary.” They dressed as Dionysus because the god was trans, McGrath said. Dionysus was born as a man, died and then lived again as a woman.

Students and faculty at the rally called on cisgender people — those who identify with the gender they were assigned at birth — to speak out for transgender people and their rights. One speaker said students should challenge their family members during Thanksgiving break if they make transphobic comments.

Alyeska Dronsfield, a freshman women’s and gender studies major, is from North Carolina, the state that passed the “bathroom bill” that banned transgender people from using the bathroom that matched their identity. At the rally, she said people in her hometown of Durham used the slogan “I’ll go with you” during the controversy in 2016, meaning they would accompany trans people to the bathroom if they felt unsafe.

“And that is the philosophy I’m going to carry through with any struggle with trans people. I will go with you anywhere, anytime if you need me,” Dronsfield said. “That is what all cis people should do.”

Shortly after Dronsfield spoke, a person walking by yelled, “Go Trump!” People in the crowd responded by shouting obscenities at them.

“That’s a lot of hate,” the person said.

“Hell yeah, it is,” McGrath yelled back.

Students stand at protest. (Names as visible left to right will follow): (left to right) Mason Miessau-Valcore (He/him, sign language interpreter), Rylee (she/her) first year SUNY-ESF, Quincy Nolan (Senior VPA, He/him), Lenny (he/him first year SUNY-ESF), Rose (she/her) first year, SUNY-ESF. Doug Steinman | Contributing Photographer

The protest was organized by SU’s chapter of the International Socialist Organization, and sponsored by SU’s LGBT studies program, LGBT Resource Center, Disability Cultural Center and the University Senate’s Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Asexual Justice and Advocacy.

SU’s Dean of Students Rob Hradsky was in the crowd at the beginning of the protest, but left before it ended and did not speak to protesters. khristian kemp-delisser, director of the LGBT Resource Center, and Diane Wiener, director of the Disability Cultural Center, both spoke at the rally.

Wiener said that people often think of her as cisgender, but she’s actually gender non-conforming, and she identifies as disabled and lesbian. She applauded the ISO for organizing the protest, but encouraged the organization to consider physical accessibility when planning events — like protests on the Hendricks Chapel steps.

kemp-delisser said during their time as a student at SU in the 1990s, they met a transgender Latino man named Carlos who taught them how to “stand up and stand out” on campus.

Several speakers noted throughout the protest that there were only a few transgender students of color in the crowd. kemp-delisser said transgender and non-binary people have always been leaders in the SU community.

“Since my first year at Syracuse, it has been trans people of color showing me the way, showing what it means to be in the lead in terms of progressive change, acceptance and solidarity,” kemp-delisser said.

Published on October 31, 2018 at 10:41 pm

Contact Casey: [email protected] | @caseydarnell_