In collaboration with institutions across the world, transgender scholars at Northwestern launched the Center for Applied Transgender Studies, which focuses on conducting practical research on trans issues, Communication Prof. TJ Billard, Ph.D. candidate Erique Zhang and University of Southern California Ph.D. candidate Avery Everhart co-founded and launched the center in late March with the goal.
Starting off the keynote conversation in Queertopia on Sunday, writer and comedian Lexi Adsit said trans women of color possess powers of world-changing and world-thinking.
Adsit compiled an anthology starting last year titled “Paradise on the Margins: Lessons and Dreams from Trans Women of Color.” At the event, Adsit emphasized Black trans womens’ founding of organizations that ensure community survival.
“That’s the kind of work that I want to lift up and recognize, and there’s so many incredible stories and individuals that are just making the world a better place,” Adsit said.
Over the weekend, Queer Pride Graduate Student Association hosted its 14th annual Queertopia, a conference that celebrates queer scholarship from a wide range of disciplines.
For the past year, graduate students have met with University administrators to demand Northwestern prioritize students with marginalized identities. The administration has largely responded with hesitancy, according to some students.
Sarah Peko-Spicer, an organizer of CoalitionNU and Ph.D. candidate, said the collective has demanded inclusive healthcare, increased funding for affinity spaces and other support systems after a year of pandemic mobilization and appeals to the University.
“I personally am rethinking if this is an effective pathway to be working down,” she said. “Are we just wasting everyone’s time sitting in these meetings?”
Still, Peko-Spicer said she hopes a projected return to campus may rejuvenate organizers after a difficult year where the graduate students’ academic and life responsibilities were exacerbated, particularly for caregiving students and those of marginalized identities.