Students hold walkout for trans rights
On Wednesday, Jan. 25, a walkout for trans rights was held on the Quad. The event, organized and led by USU student Kris Carpenter, had a crowd of around 150 that marched through campus.
Carpenter organized the event in response to two recent bills passed by the Utah House. First is HB0257, also called the Sex-based Designation for Privacy, Anti-bullying, and Women’s Opportunities Bill. The protestors have nicknamed this the trans bathroom bill.
“It defines legally what a male and a female is,” Carpenter said. “It says that only male and female people are allowed in male and female bathrooms based on the genitals or organs that you have at birth.”
This bill does make an exception for those who are intersex.
“There are certain things I like about the bill. It requires there to be at least one unisex restroom in each public facility, which is great for me personally. As a trans person, I am terrified to go into the women’s restroom or to the men’s restroom,” Carpenter said. “What the bill would do is it can criminally convict people who violate this law.”
The second bill is HB0261, or the Equal Opportunity Initiatives Bill, which prohibits hiring practices, programs and requirements within diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education. This could affect clubs such as the Queer Student Alliance or the Queer Christian Initiative, which had members at the walkout.
Protestors dressed in rainbow attire and capes made of pride flags carried posters with a similar color palette. Chanting phrases like “Trans rights are human rights” and “No hate at Utah State,” they marched from the Quad, behind the Noelle E. Cockett Life Sciences Building, past Huntsman Hall, and back to the Quad for a rally surrounding the Block A.
Passersby stopped and watched as the protesters made their way through campus, some taking pictures and videos, including USUSA President Abraham Rodriguez, who stopped and waved to students as they marched.
Following the march, Carpenter stood atop the Block A and welcomed a series of speakers. Included in the lineup was USU watershed sciences professor and department head Patrick Belmont.
‘How do we make Utah a place where everyone is welcome? Where everybody can love who they want to love, where they can live the life they want to live, where they can make their own health care choices? This is not a lot to ask,” Belmont said during his speech.
Other speakers included Jade Valazquez, Cristina Chirvasa, Dorothy Wallis and Sophie Christensen.
Christensen, a political science major, discussed her hopes for the event prior to the walkout.
“I think my biggest goal today is to show each other and show our campus community that we’re not going to give up,” Christensen said.
She also shared advice for allies at USU.
“Don’t stop trying to learn, especially as allies and people that maybe don’t know a lot about these issues, or why they matter,” Christensen said. “Take the time to go learn about it and to educate yourself and at the very least, try to learn about different experiences and perspectives.”