Barnes Center hosts panel in response to rise in anti-trans legislation
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In response to the recent rise in anti-trans legislation across the nation, Syracuse University’s Barnes Center at The Arch and LGBTQ Resource Center hosted a panel on the health and wellness impacts of anti-trans legislation Wednesday evening in Slocum Hall.
The panel focused on how SU is addressing the needs of trans and queer students through mental health programs, medical care and community building, with five panelists from the Barnes Center, LGBTQ Resource Center and the Transgender Affirmative Support Team in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics.
The panel — titled “Health and Wellness Impacts of Anti-Trans Legislation: Finding Hope Through Community and Connection Panel Discussion” — was held three hours ahead of a Q&A session and speech by Sara Stockton, a local family therapist who has been advertised as a gender expert by SU’s College Republicans, at the Drumlins Country Club.
Dr. Carrie Brown, the director of counseling at the Barnes Center, said there is an increased need for mental health treatment for transgender people around the country, primarily in states where these laws have been passed. She specifically focused on the rising rates of suicidal tendencies among trans people in comparison to cisgender people.
“I don’t put this data up here to scare anyone or to use it as a tactic or rhetoric. I put this data up here because this is real,” Brown said.
Brown said the counseling team at the Barnes Center has made gender-affirming healthcare a “strategic priority” in order to foster protection for trans people on SU’s campus and create a safe community space for them.
“How do you trust that you’re going to be welcome in spaces when laws and legislations like these are being passed, which increases mental health symptoms such as anxiety, depression, feeling devalued?” Brown said.
The Barnes Center is also accommodating trans medical care in addition to mental health. Director of Health Care at the Barnes Center Kathleen Coughlin said the center offers gender-affirming care such as prescribing hormones and puberty blockers.
Jorge Castillo, director of the LGBTQ Resource Center, said there have been 590 anti-trans bills across the nation in 49 different states. He said 85 of these bills have been passed, 380 are active and 125 failed. There are currently two active anti-trans bills in New York state, both of which focused on women’s sports, Castillo said.
Coughlin pointed out a main problem in transgender medical care – which she said is a healthcare area like any other – is currently a shortage of gender-affirming care providers.
“This is a situation where you work in consultation with a medical provider. They’re going to have time to talk with you about where you are in the continuum of moving forward, so don’t feel like, ‘I need to come in with a plan, I need to make a request,’ just come in and have that conversation,” Coughlin said.
Dr. Tanya Williamson, associate director for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, said SU should work on community building beyond just the Barnes Center.
Williamson said in order to create an inclusive environment, people must be aware of their personal biases and acknowledge them so they can work against them and improve the acceptance of others.
“You have to actually make someone feel like a part of a community,” Williamson said. “So I send that question to folks, ‘What are you doing to make this community feel welcome and what does that look like?’”
People can also work towards building community through learning about transgender history, having transparency of gender-affirming services and action towards inclusivity, Williamson said.
Williamson also said SU has already taken action by implementing all-gender bathrooms, creating a podcast for trans and queer communities, updating staff bios to include pronouns, hosting outreach events, implementing additional staff and student education and hosting inclusive physical space hours.
SU also has a Transgender Affirmative Support Team on campus that offers specialized gender-affirming care through mental health support and assistance in navigating the process of gender exploration and transition for trans people and their families.
Dr. Tristan Martin, an assistant teaching professor in the Marriage and Family Therapy Department in Falk, said the support team will celebrate Trans Support Day on Mar. 30, 2024. There will be an event that will include free clothes, affirming health providers and affirming experiences such as hair and makeup services. Martin also said the support team works with a network of CNY affirmative providers who work in gender-affirming medical care.
Brown said the Barnes Center is having conversations regarding its gender-affirming care and it will continue to do so as anti-trans legislation continues.
“We have been emphasizing the need to educate ourselves to ensure that if we want to support our communities, we have to know how we can do that,” Castillo said.
