Members of the CSUSM community attended UC Riverside’s second annual Asterisk Trans* Conference to gain more information and resources on how to support trans and gender nonconforming youth.

The two day conference was held on Friday, Feb. 26 and Saturday, Feb. 27 in UC Riverside’s student union. The event featured speakers and performances by activists such as Jade Phoenix, Jennicet Gutiérrez and Kay Ulanday Barrett.

The conference hosted more than 500 attendees from 54 different campuses including UCLA, Moorpark College, CSU Dominguez Hills, CSU Fullerton, UC Santa Barbara and CSU Northridge. CSUSM sent 17 attendees to the conference including members of Student Health & Counseling Services, ASI LGBTQA Pride Center and ASI Gender Equity Center.

LGBTQA Pride Center Peer Educator Alex Maravillas said that he enjoyed interacting with members from various communities and campuses.

“It was great getting to know so many people at the conference,” he said. “I especially loved the poetry that Kay Ulanday Barrett performed; they were words of encouragement. I also got to meet Ryka Aoki, who was one of the performers that closed the conference. I learned from her how different generations can come together and relate.”

On the second day of the conference, attendees went to four sessions lasting an hour each. For each slot, attendees could choose from twenty-eight different session options. Session topics included GaySL: A Crash Course in LGBTQ American Sign Language, Neurodiversity and Disability in the Transgender Community, Health Providers Panel: Accessing Trans-Friendly Health Care and Leadership Isn’t Sexy: Teaching Leadership to New Queer and Trans Leaders.

LGBTQA Pride Center regular Robin Simmons said that having the opportunity to attend sessions on various topics was beneficially both personally and professionally.

“One of my favorite sessions was the Name and Gender Marker Change Clinic,” Simmons said. “If you have ever done anything with the legal process of changing your name, you know that it is a paperwork nightmare. But this session was helpful because it gave me the paperwork I needed so that I am now that much closer to [legally] changing my name.”
The second annual Asterisk Trans* Conference was presented by Asterisk of UCR and the LGBT Resource Center, with support from the California Endowment. Students, faculty and staff who are interested in attending next year’s conference can visit asteriskconference.blogspot.com or facebook.com/asteriskconference.