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It was a rough summer here in South Florida, particularly for those of us who are queer. The shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando hit very close to home. As more than one friend pointed out, Omar Mateen, the shooter, lived equidistant from Orlando and my home city of Wilton Manors, the second gayest city in the United States. He could have just as easily headed here. And with a best friend who works security at one of the most popular gay bars in town, the whole incident was beyond unsettling.
One of the many administrative hats I wear at school is Director of Florida Atlantic University’s Center for Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. I was thus quite grateful to be able to coordinate and participate in our school’s response to the shooting. We had a memorial, an open discussion for students (many of whom are Hispanic and many of whom are from the Orlando area), and a panel discussion. The turnout for all of these was impressive, particularly during a summer session, and included not only our students but also many faculty, staff, and administrators. In the wake of these events, our college has reached out to work more closely with the university’s Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs. It feels very good to be making a difference.
But I’ve also been thinking about how to make a difference in my classroom, not just for queer and Latino students but perhaps more particularly for transgender students. If you follow the news closely, you may have noted an alarming rise in violence against transgendered people, particularly those of color. Our school already has a list of gender neutral bathrooms, the result of a grassroots petition by a transgender student in our college, but I wanted to make sure I made my classroom a safe space for transgender students.
Here are some of the practices I’ve adopted:
Life has pretty much returned to normal here in South Florida, though there is a much more visible police presence outside the bars in Wilton Manors even now. Classes started for us August 22 and a new wave of students are filtering through our classes. As we continue to heal from what happened in Orlando and as transgendered people continue to face horrific violence around the world, it’s good to know that in some small way I can make a difference. You can, too. Please share other tips you have for making your classroom a safe and inclusive space.
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