“I never wanted your acceptance if it was just judgment in disguise,” said Dani Toubin as they read their poem on the Campus Greens. Students 4 Trans Visibility hosted an event that consisted of music, art, speeches and stories from trans and non-binary DU students on March 31.

The event called on the upper administration at DU to implement three action items presented by the committee, as well as the provision of a safe space for trans and non-binary creatives to display their talent and convey messages they are passionate about. Created and led by non-binary students Dani Toubin and Mak Dempsey, the event featured displays of art, a welcoming attitude from everyone there, and a plethora of Nicki Minaj music.

The organization’s action items include gender-neutral bathrooms in every building on campus by the end of the 2023 school year, the normalization of pronoun usage across all academic and non-academic fields, and the reinstatement of an annual event similar to the one held on March 31.

The University of Denver has a myriad of issues when it comes to its approach to students’ gender identity, according to Dempsey.

“I think that the University of Denver needs to embrace a gender abolitionist perspective … I don’t think that sex has anything to do with admissions,” said Dempsey. “I don’t understand why it’s a question that they ask you; I don’t understand why it’s a thing my school needs to know about me.”

Toubin spoke on the organization’s catchphrase, “we are not the other,” and how it encapsulates their goals and issues with DU’s approach to trans and non-binary students.

“We, as non-binary students, are often looked at as a third option. For example, with housing, when we fill out our application we have to seek permission to live with a cis student, instead of just being looked at as another student,” said Toubin.

Dempsey talked about issues of inclusion for trans and non-binary students in the University of Denver community, and also specifically mentioned housing.

“People opt into us. We say ‘hi, I’m trans’ and people say ‘I’m okay with living with a trans person.’ It is very easy to see how that is a problem.”

Toubin ended the discussion with a request for those who oppose equality for trans and non-binary people.

“I can’t change these people’s minds, but I ask that they take a look outside of the world besides their own.”

If you would like to support the Students 4 Trans Visibility, you can sign their petition here.