Editors note: Some sources have chosen to identify themselves by first name only out of concern for their safety and security.
“Shit’s really bad for trans people right now,” Jack said to a crowd of over 90 people in the Quarry Plaza. “Our protections are being eliminated. Where is the momentum? Where is the outrage?”
Jack was just one of many queer students who participated in “Trans Day of Rage” on April 7.
The event was organized by an autonomous coalition of UC Santa Cruz students to express their anger at the federal government’s criminalization of the transgender identity and the struggles that transgender students at UCSC face. The event consisted of a rally at the Quarry Plaza, a march down Hagar Drive and a gathering at the base of campus.
As the event began at 11:30 a.m. in the Quarry Plaza, speakers gave testimonies from their personal experiences with harassment for being transgender, emphasizing the need for a collective upheaval.
“There comes a boiling point for disenfranchised people at which you simply cannot take anymore,” said Áine, a rally participant, in an interview with City on a Hill Press. “This is an explosion of trans people who are not only dissatisfied but rageful at the current administration of the United States, but also our UC Santa Cruz administration.”
An attendee reads from a chant sheet at the rally in the Quarry Plaza. One chant (not pictured) reads: “Fuck your systems, fuck your hate! We are not here for debate!”
The day of rage was planned to contrast International Transgender Day of Visibility which fell on March 31, exactly one week prior to the event. The day of visibility was first observed in 2009 to celebrate transgender people and recognize the struggles they face.
Organizers of the April 7 event are critical of the representations of transgender visibility associated with the day, which often take the form of slogans, merchandise and other means of co-optation.
“‘Trans rest/joy/existence’ is important, but conflating it with resistance is counter-revolutionary and does nothing but encourage complacency with the systems that oppress us, defanging our liberation movement,” said lead organizers of the event in their Instagram post on March 31, the same day as International Transgender Day of Visibility.
“That language rubs people the wrong way a lot of the time, especially trans people,” Áine said. “I’m visible as hell. That’s not the problem. Trans people are tired of just being visible and are wanting to have [their] opinion expressed, and it is rageful.”
Three attendees, two of whom are wearing nonbinary pride flags, embrace as they listen to speakers at the Quarry Plaza rally.
Since the start of his term in January, President Donald Trump has passed numerous policies and executive orders targeting the transgender community. These orders seek to solely recognize citizens of the United States as male or female, ban transgender individuals from the United States Military and deny the option of ‘X’ on passport gender markers.
During the rally, organizers presented a list of demands for the UCSC administration. These demands include:
- Maintaining current protections and services for trans students, staff, faculty, and workers
- Sustaining and increasing funding for queer resources on campus
- Desegregating bathrooms and making them all gender neutral
- Reforming trans-inclusive housing and lowering costs
- Providing free, over-the-counter, and gender-affirming care for all students regardless of UC insurance.
Transgender and nonbinary care is available on campus through the Student Health Center and includes a myriad of treatment options such as the initiation or refills for hormone therapy, and referrals for fertility preservations and gender affirming surgeries. However, accessibility to gender-affirming services on campus is limited to those with UC SHIP.
“The UC SHIP coverage for hormones is really good actually compared to a lot of healthcares,” Jack said. “Extending that to all students would be a really concrete move to make the school more safe and inclusive for all, not just for a few.”
After the rally at the Quarry Plaza, the clouds cleared and sunlight beamed on participants as they began their march to the base of campus. The crowd from the rally flooded Hagar Drive, slowing a line of over 30 cars that built up behind them as they marched.
Participants marching from the Quarry Plaza down to the base of campus. As they marched, participants in cars and bikes flanked the crowd to direct traffic.
Throughout the march, participants lead chants, such as “Trans rights are human rights” and “Who keeps us safe? We keep us safe.” Cars honked in solidarity with the marching crowd as they passed.
Waiting for the participants at the base of campus were informational booths, a clothing swap and vibrant music.
While some participants picnicked on the lawn, others offered gender-affirming haircuts, encouraging transgender and nonbinary folks to come to the front of the line. The surrounding booths were hosted by a variety of organizations, providing information about queer-inclusive groups on campus and handing out gender-affirming products like binders.
Slide 1: A participant serves fried rice from a food station built at the base of campus. Slide 2: Participants sorting clothes onto blankets for a clothing swap at the base of campus, where attendees could take gender-affirming clothes for free. Slide 3: Flyers, pins and zines from a booth hosted by the Trans Student Union of UCSC.
As the transgender community continues to face attacks on their identities, participants at the event, including Angelina, found comfort in being in community with one another.
“We are brave, intelligent and able to support each other,” Angelina said. “[We are] able to survive and to fight back, which is a message I’d especially like any young trans people that are lonely, or not knowing what to do in the Santa Cruz community, [to hear].”
“I’d like them to take that to heart: that there’s a community,” she continued. “There’s hope and light in their future if they’re willing to fight for it.”
