The Citrus College Pride Center had an information table in the Campus Center Mall on Nov. 13 and Nov. 14 for transgender awareness week.
Transgender awareness week is from Nov. 13 to Nov. 19. It is recognized as a week when transgender people and their allies call attention to the transgender community.
Pride Center coordinator, Anastasia Arnestad, organized the event and the booth was handled by student volunteers throughout the day.
Arnestad said she organized the event months in advance when she had taken time over the summer to look over all the LGBTQ+ days of recognition and awareness weeks.
There are several events that go on for all members of the LBGTQ+ community that happen in the Pride Center. However, Arnestad stressed the importance of having a table in the Campus Center Mall for transgender awareness week.
“This week just felt justified to have an information table,” Arnestad said. “There are people in the community that don’t always recognize the ‘T’ (in LGBTQ+) and why the trans community is so important.”
Arnestad said people have questions about what it means to be trans or what the trans experience is like. Arnestad said she wanted to hold space for those questions so the trans community can be understood and uplifted.
“People should feel safe and comfortable approaching and asking about things that maybe they don’t know, and it’s okay (to not know),” Arnestad said.
The information table had flyers for several different resources, along with other free items such as pride flags, condoms and candy.
A Citrus student volunteer, Joshua Snyder, said one thing that made people comfortable to approach the booth was the free candy.
“I’ve had lots of positive interactions today, a lot of people really like picking out the starburst candies,” Snyder said. “They (the candies) bring in and then we tell them about this stuff (the resources for transgender people).”
Damien Palmer, a Citrus student volunteer, explained what resources the flyers outlined.
“We have some good information on resources for (free) binders, (Pride Center) events going on, tips for (LGBTQ+) allies, glossaries for transgender identity and expression and biological and sexual orientation,” Palmer said.
All the information supplied at the tables is available in the Pride Center every week 10 a.m. to 2 p.m Monday through Thursday.
