Spectrum Center panel talks supporting LGBTQ+ students in current political climate

The University of Michigan Spectrum Center hosted a virtual panel titled “Supporting 2SLGBTQIA+ Students in Our Political Context” Wednesday afternoon to discuss how to serve LGBTQ+ university students across the country in a political landscape becoming increasingly difficult for queer and trans people to navigate. The panel was moderated by Spectrum Center Director Jesse Beal and featured professors from multiple other universities.

Dawn Espy, Spectrum Center associate director, opened the meeting with a land and labor acknowledgment, as well as a disclaimer that sentiments shared during the panel would not represent the official views of the University. The discussion then began with a discussion of current pressures universities face, which panelists said can lead to hasty and irrational administrative decisions. 

Kristen Renn, professor of higher, adult and lifelong education at Michigan State University, said politicians have weaponized a lack of awareness of transgender issues to advocate for  anti-transgender legislation. 

“Clearly this legislation is very serious and it’s a very serious matter, and being purposely vague is a strategy,” Renn said. “It’s an intentional strategy to be attacking institutions as well as populations and folks have found that there aren’t as many supporters for trans folks, so it’s easier to attack trans folks.”

Kristopher Oliveira, director of the LGBTQ+ Equity Center at the University of Maryland, said he noticed LGBTQ+ students avoiding campus spaces, even with no clear legal risk.

“The greatest impact is our students opting out of engaging in certain types of spaces because of that chilling effect,” Oliveira said. “What’s been so important is the work of LGBTQ+ resource centers, even if we haven’t been able to impact a specific arena or space on campus. Our work has been to encourage folks to show up and to participate, to make sure that they feel welcome in every corner of campus.”

Antonio Duran, associate professor of higher and postsecondary education at Arizona State University, said he thinks campus leaders need to rely on one another and local organizations to fully support LGBTQ+ students. .

“It goes back to this idea of how we work in groups and coalitions,” Duran said. “We can say, ‘I need to take a break,’ and I know someone else will take over. Or ‘I have a little bit of extra capacity at this moment, so how can I step in and support communities in the work?’ … We need to think about how to connect with community organizations, nonprofit organizations.”

Duran concluded the meeting by saying he remains optimistic, encouraging the crowd to avoid complacency.

“For those of you who are dejected, feel dejected,” Duran said. “For me, the biggest thing I’m afraid of is apathy at the moment. So as long as we’re feeling something, I think we’re moving forward.”

Daily News Contributor Arella He can be contacted at arellahe@umich.edu.