Queer & Trans Resource Center hosts sports mixer event in response to TPUSA speaker

When the Queer & Trans Resource Center realized Turning Point USA was hosting a “Saving Women’s Sports” event featuring former athlete Riley Gaines, they felt disappointed by SF State administration. Their reaction was to organize a counter-event that celebrated trans athletes instead, a Queer and Trans Sports Mixer.

Riley Gaines is an activist and swimmer who has expressed her disagreement with the NCAA regarding trans athletes’ participation in college tournaments.

The organizers of the sports mixer viewed their event as a respectful and peaceful response to an event they saw as an attack on trans people’s rights. 83 people attended the mixer on Thursday.

Jeremy Lark, assistant director of QTRC, highlights the importance of fighting against anti-trans violence and legislation, as well as sending a counter message to the TPUSA speech.

“We think it is particularly important that we hold this event because if we don’t, there is no counter message to Turning Point’s event that emboldens them, that lets them know that they’re free to talk about whatever they want on campus without any counter message,” Lark said.

Lark, who uses they/them pronouns, also expressed their disappointment in SF State’s decision to not make a statement regarding this issue and support the trans community. Lark feels they haven’t received institutional support and, instead, the university is encouraging trans violence.

“With the university not releasing a unified statement to stand out against transphobia and against transphobic violence, that leaves it to us, the students to [send] that message because trans students don’t feel supported by the university right now, they don’t feel safe,” Lark said. “This is the first case where I as a student leader have felt like I don’t have the institutional support to make these students feel safe.”

The mixer started at 5 p.m. at Rosa Parks A–C, located at the Cesar Chavez Student Center. This allowed people to attend both events. Many attendees walked to the TPUSA event at the HSS building to protest at 7 p.m.

Multiple students felt threatened by the TPUSA event and its speaker. Natasha Garetto, a theatre student who attended the QTRC event said, “This school is promoted as an accepting school, a safe place for people and they’re literally bringing a person that is attacking them onto our campus, inviting them into our campus and having them speak to people as if they’re a person of authority.”

Currently, there are no trans athletes participating in SF State Athletics. However, SF State Athletics’ Director Stephanie Shrieve-Hawkins encourages everyone to try out for the teams. 

Shrieve-Hawkins pointed out how some athletes can see competition as an enhancer of negative thoughts against trans people, making some forget about other issues like inclusivity. 

“You wouldn’t see this with dancers or any other thing that’s physical,” Shrieve-Hawkins said in a previous meeting. “It’s just with this athletics [perspective], we live in this society that’s so competitive.”

Shrieve-Hawkins understands it is a common mistake to believe people might have a competitive advantage due to their physical abilities. She sees this as an issue that affects trans women in particular.

“You’ll notice that especially transgender male to female is the one that people are focusing most on because it’s a gender bias in a way as well,” Shrieve-Hawkins said. “So what does that say about women, that women aren’t strong?”

The event brought multiple local trans and non-binary inclusive groups to participate in the event, such as T-Rex Softball Team, Non-Binary Run Club and SF Women’s+ Flag Football Team. 

“I think a lot of trans people shy away from sports after a certain point, when it feels like you don’t belong, or you’re being targeted by legislation, or administration,” said Owen Dempsey, trans male player and manager of T-Rex Softball Team. “So, to have a safe space for trans folks to get back into some of the sports that they enjoyed or loved is so empowering and powerful, and just so fun.”

Kiera Wide, trans female player at SF Women’s Flag Football League, highlights how trans people deserve places where they are able to play a sport and just have fun. 

“People aren’t pretending to transition just to become a champion at their sport,” Wide said.“It’s important for people and students and young people to know that there is a community out there, that the queer community and the greater community out there understands that and is here and is willing to be there for them and is willing to fight for them.”

SF State’s Department of Athletics made a recent statement regarding diversity and inclusion on their website. However, since they don’t explicitly mention trans athletes’ participation, they may change it in the future, so the message is clear and inclusive, according to Shrieve-Hawkins.

The NCAA establishes a process for trans students to participate in competitions. The process takes into consideration trans people’s transition process, including testosterone levels.

After the trans-inclusive event ended, participants decided to move as a group to the TPUSA event, banners in hand. Some recited “trans women are women,” a message that would later be chanted. 

Although they were able to enter the building, most did not enter the event room due to full capacity.

As protesters waited in the halls of the HSS building, some shared their experiences of feeling unsafe on campus. 

“My intent, of course, is not to make any woman who was assigned a woman at birth to feel unsafe. I just want to feel safe in my own body, right?,” said a trans woman who wants to preserve her anonymity.

It is unclear how the event is going to affect SF State’s campus in the future. Some students have felt threatened and feel their safe space, as this university was believed to be, has been violated.

“When I enrolled at San Francisco State University, I did that under the assumption that this place was safe and that I wouldn’t have to encounter that because this isn’t a matter of conflicting opinions or conflicting viewpoints,” Lark said. “And if the campus isn’t going to take extra steps, ensure their safety, then I can’t in good faith say that [this is] a safe space for those students.”