Sami Schwanke/Winonan

Winona State University’s Full Spectrum club will be having three events this week for the 15th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, which takes place Wednesday, Nov. 20.

Garrett Bowling, Full Spectrum’s Co-Public Relation Chair, said trans* awareness is important for the Winona State community.

“We usually do a candlelight vigil, but this year we wanted the event to be a learning experience,” Bowling said. “It’s basically to remember the trans* people or gender nonconforming people who have been murdered because of the hatred and fear their community receives.”

There will be a cisgender workshop at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday in Dining Rooms B and C in Kryzsko Commons, and a candlelight vigil also on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Windom Park, which is on the corner of Huff and Sixth Street.

The cisgender workshop is a new addition to the Day of Remembrance events.

Likewise, “cisgender” itself is a relatively new term.

“Cisgender,” Bowling said, “refers to anyone who identifies with the gender that they were born with.”

The cisgender workshop was an important addition for Full Spectrum, said Bowling.

“The cisgender workshop is meant to use cisprivilege to better the community as a whole and make better allies,” Bowling said.

Full Spectrum President Jax Pugh agreed with Bowling on the importance of raising awareness and involvement for allies.
“It’s to help people become a better ally and move away from being a bystander,” Pugh said.

Pugh also shared information about Wednesday night’s traditional vigil.

“The vigil is also a gathering of supportive people where not only grief and outrage can be expressed, but also hope and a recommitment to ending the injustice that gives rise to such violence can be given voice,” Pugh said. “Names of some victims will be read aloud, thoughts and feelings of those in attendance may be voiced, and remarks will be offered by Dr. JamieAnn Meyers, a member of the trans* community who lives among us.”

Transgender Day of Remembrance started after the murder of Rita Hester, which is still unsolved, according to the Transgender Day of Remembrance website.

“The first Transgender Day of Remembrance in 1998 was web-based,” Pugh said. “By 2012 the number of observances worldwide has grown to more than 200.”

Full Spectrum’s next big event is attending the Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College Conference in Kansas City, Mo.

The topics raised at the conference surround LGBTA identities, race, religion, gender, sex and disability.

The conference will also address important issues and values going forward, such as history, education, health, politics, allyship, homelessness, professionalism and leadership.

Bowling said he was looking forward to the conference.

“You get to learn about the community and hear people and their stories,” Bowling said.

Full Spectrum meets every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in Minne 103.  If interested in joining, contact Jax Pugh at [email protected].

Contact Sami at [email protected]