In this episode of Roompact’s ResEdChat, join our host Noah Montague and guest, Dr. April Callis, as they talk about strategies for supporting trans and nonbinary students living in residence halls. Trans and nonbinary students are a population often overlooked at universities; how are Residence Life staff uniquely situated to be able to provide that often missing support? Where a student lives while on campus matters; listen as Noah and April discuss strategies, tell stories, and share student experience for Residence Life Staff navigating systems in place and working to make them more inclusive for trans students.
Guest: April Callis (they/she), Assistant Dean and Director of the Gender + Sexuality Resource Center, Princeton University
Host: Noah Montague
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Roompact’s ResEdChat podcast is a platform to showcase people doing great work and talk about hot topics in residence life and college student housing. If you have a topic idea for an episode, let us know!
Transcript:
Noah Montague:
Welcome to Roompact’s ResEdChat Podcast, a platform to showcase people doing great work and talk about hot topics in residence life and college student housing. My name is Noah Montague, and I use he/him/his pronouns, and today I’m going to be your host. If you’ve been watching my episodes or listening along with us for a while, I like to say that I am a storyteller by trade, and these stories that I like to tell and choose to center are those that center the student and the college student experience, which makes me all the more excited about today’s topic.
So in a previous episode, some of you might remember, I spoke about supporting LGBTQIA+ students in residence halls, and today I wanted to take that topic a little bit deeper and think specifically about trans students and how we work to support trans students in residence life and how we’re uniquely positioned to do that, but also how we’re uniquely positioned to cause harm in that space and have a really honest conversation about that, which makes me all the more excited to bring today’s guest in and thinking about the relationships I have, the spaces that I’m in, and the communities I’m a part of.
I’m going to go ahead and let them introduce themselves to you all.
April Callis:
Hey, everybody, I’m so excited to be here today. My name is April Callis. I use they and she pronouns. I’m currently the assistant dean of diversity and inclusion and also the director of the Gender + Sexuality Resource Center at Princeton University. I’ve been working in gender sexuality spaces for the last 10 years now in higher education, and before that I was a faculty member in anthropology, women’s studies, and honors college, so I have a lot to talk about today. Very good.
Noah Montague:
Yes, you do, my friend. But I guess just to get us started into this conversation and as we’re talking about any marginalized population of students, I like to make sure that I’m starting with no student group as a monolith, and that’s an important caveat for us to be talking about. But I do want to start with, in your experience, what are some of those unique challenges or experiences that you’ve seen come up for trans students as it relates to living in residence halls?
April Callis:
Yeah. I’m going to talk about this kind of broadly, what we’re seeing nationally, and then also anecdotally or what I’ve seen in the work that I’ve done. So part of the reason that I first got really invested in working with queer and trans, but particularly affirming trans and non-binary college students, is because we see these large gaps in sense of belonging, and we see that in the classroom, we see that in their residence halls, this feeling that they don’t belong at their university, that they don’t belong with other students. We have data on that going back the last 15 years. That certainly continues to be true now. But then what I’m seeing on the campuses at the campuses that I’ve worked at… I actually just did a bunch of focus groups with trans and non-binary undergraduate and graduate students, and housing experiences came up a lot because that’s where you are all the time. That’s the one place you want to go and be able to just let go and be who you are.
And so I would say one of the things that I’m seeing from this population is just a fear, like, “Is somebody not going to be affirming of who I am? Am I going to run into issues when I’m going to the bathroom? Is somebody going to tell me that I shouldn’t be showering in this space? Is the wrong name going to go up on the door at some point?” All of these fears, and that means that these students oftentimes have their guard up and feel as though they can’t just relax and have that space, and that’s a really hard way to continuously exist at a university if you feel like you don’t have a space that you can kind of just be who you are. And certainly I could talk about like bathroom access, that’s a huge one. I could talk about misgendering, that’s another one, right? People not understanding pronouns and being scared, that’s across the university, but then it continues as they’re going back to their dorms.
And then finally, I would say, to be totally transparent, there have been a lot of political shifts in the last few years, and so also there’s carrying that. We have national data that shows that our students are very aware of what’s going on and that seeing this as increasing anxiety, it’s increasing depression, it’s increasing this sense of isolation, and so also figuring out, “How are we creating affirming spaces with all of that going on?”
Noah Montague:
Yeah. And I think in residence life specifically, to a lot of the points you made, that is the biggest question, especially when we’re thinking about students coming back. Something I love that you said is going back to the space that is supposed to be their home while they’re on campus. It’s supposed to be the place that they’re able to relax, the place that they’re able to just be. And what does it mean when we have a population of students who is constantly feeling like… that their ability to just be is being challenged, that is being attacked in a lot of different ways.
To some of the other points that you’re talking about, I’m seeing students come home and feel like they can’t make it that for themselves because of some of those things that you’re talking about in, “Will my name be correct on my door? Will I be challenged when I go to the bathroom? Will my roommate be affirming depending on how I went through this process and when I came out or when…” all of those things that come into play in living somewhere. I see it often, especially in the communities that I’m a part of, and the fear that is in place is very specific.
April Callis:
Yes, yes, yes. And also, “If any of these things happen that I’m scared of…” Right?
Noah Montague:
Yeah.
April Callis:
“… things that I’m seeing happen at other institutions, I’m seeing things in the news, if something goes wrong here, is housing going to have my back? Am I going to be able to report this, and it’s going to be okay? If I have a problem with my roommate, are the people that I’m talking to about this going to understand my needs, or am I going to have to explain and justify my existence?” So then that’s this other layer of the fear as well of like, “I’m scared of the bad thing, and then I’m scared if the bad thing happens.” More bad things will come from it, which, once again, is hard.
Noah Montague:
Mm-hmm, because it’s not just, “I have to explain the issue that I’m encountering,” it’s that in some spaces the need to defend oneself as well, that comes up in those conversations, whether that be that the residence hall staff is unaffirming or not, like that, that intrinsic need to almost argue for oneself that I’m seeing come up so much right now.
April Callis:
Yes. And then, I feel like also, there’s a fear that you’re going to be misunderstood or this feeling that, “If I try to defend myself, I’m going to be viewed as the angry trans person,” and I hear this from staff that are like, “Oh, I misgendered somebody, and I really didn’t mean to.” But then they were so upset, and I’m like, “I understand your intent, and that’s okay, and I’m not saying that any of us are not going to make mistakes. I make mistakes. I’m a professional queer, and I still make mistakes.”
Oh, my god, I totally just lost my complete train of thought.
Also, hold on. Hey, hey, hey, let me say one more thing.
Noah Montague:
Please.
April Callis:
Not only am I a person who is working in this field right now, I’m also a person going through menopause, and what that means is I will be passionately talking about something that then will just completely escape my brain. So I hope all of y’all are excited about listening to this conversation that is going to follow absolutely nothing.
What was I talking about? This idea of, oh, being angry and this idea that just people don’t understand that when somebody’s carrying that fear into the conversation, then they might come off hot because they’ve been scared. They’ve been waiting for that shoe to drop and for something that seems small perhaps to a staff member to this person who’s been like, “Am I going to be supported? Is everything okay? Is everything okay?” Then when something happens, there is that need to defend themselves because you’ve been waiting for that.
Noah Montague:
And when we’re talking about this specific marginalized community as well, we’re watching shoes drop constantly.
April Callis:
Yes.
Noah Montague:
Political shoes, university wide shoes, we’re watching shoes that trans students were never designed to fit into be dropped around them regularly, and that fear, I know that we’re both seeing it as we’re interacting with students. I think that with that point and with these questions and the conversation we’re having so far, you talked a little bit about my next question and thinking about staff preparedness and, “Will the staff member be there for me if I go with this problem?” What do you think the role of housing is in creating this safe and welcoming environment for trans students?
April Callis:
Yeah. In the interviews that I’ve been doing recently, what students have been talking about, one way it’s been phrased that I really appreciate, is they’re looking for breadcrumbs. It’s like following this breadcrumb trail of, “Am I going to be affirmed in this space? Is this person affirming?” What are the different ways that we can signal that before we get to an issue. Depending on the state that you’re in, depending on how your institution is understanding a lot of things that are going on at the state and federal level, we might be constrained with the ways that we are able to leave breadcrumbs, but we all can if it is introducing ourselves with our pronouns. Right?
Noah Montague:
Mm-hmm.
April Callis:
If it is when you are meeting with students for the first time and you’re asking for pronouns as something that can be included, but also you’re saying things like, “Okay, the closest men’s restroom, the closest women’s restroom, the closest all gender restroom…” What are the ways that you can just constantly be letting people know that like, “Yes, we see you. Yes, we know that you’re here.” So there’s the breadcrumb piece, asking people like, “What name do you want to be referred by?” instead of just assuming.
There’s a lot of ways to do this. But then also know the system so that you can help students if something goes wrong because students can be scared to go to somebody, they’re scared that they’re going to be misunderstood, but also they’re scared that what they’re asking for is too difficult or that nobody knows, and so have an understanding of like what does the process look like at your institution for a non-binary student who’s trying to figure out housing or trying to figure out a bathroom, like, “What are the options for that student?” to make sure that you have some of that information or that you know where to connect a student to.
Noah Montague:
For sure.
April Callis:
And then when a student comes and talks to you about whatever it is, I mean, this one’s obvious, but believe them. Right?
Noah Montague:
Mm-hmm.
April Callis:
Listen to them, hold that space for them, believe them. I do an awful lot of, “Thank you for trusting me,” because especially right now… “Thank you for trusting me,” and then, “How can I connect the student with somebody? How can I figure out what those next steps are? And then how can I check back in with that student as well to make sure that they’re still doing okay, that I’m not just saying like, ‘Okay, this other person, this other office, Bye.'” I feel like a lot of times, I’m connected to people in housing, and they know that I work at the Gender Sexuality Resource Center or I’ve worked at previous centers, and so sometimes the reaction is, “Go talk to April over in the center. April probably knows the answer to that,” and that’s good like, “Thank you. Connect them to me,” and also what are the ways-
Noah Montague:
But the handoff without any other stuff can, I think that speaks to your point about language and be understanding the systems in place rather than, “Just go talk to this person.” Because I’ve watched professionals do that with good intentions of being like, “Okay, April might be a better person for you to go and talk to. They know the systems better than I do,” and then sometimes what the student hears is they can’t go to you or you’re not the person to talk to, they did something wrong, and assuming they could go to you, because students are going to hear things different than what we intended from that sentence. I love your point about the language in that space specifically.
April Callis:
Right. Don’t make a student feel like they’re the problem, and the thing is… But the point that you made, realistically, I probably do know more just because I have to be immersed in it. Oftentimes, those of us who are working in these spaces, we are talking to general counsel, we are thinking through what different policies look like. So as things are changing, and they’re changing really quickly right now-
Noah Montague:
Yes, they are.
April Callis:
Yes, they are. Connecting with a center with somebody who knows is great, but what is that baseline of knowledge that you can have that you can say, “Here’s what this did look like”? I know we’re in a time of cultural transition. That’s a great way of referring to things by the way y’all, cultural transition.
Noah Montague:
I’m going to have to use that actually.
April Callis:
So in this time of cultural transition, things might have changed, so, “Here’s what I know. And then why don’t we connect with somebody in this office and see if anything’s changed or if there’s anything else I should be telling you.”
Noah Montague:
Yeah. I love that phrasing of, “How about we connect with this individual?” I think that community is something that I’m seeing, particularly our trans and non-binary students, looking for is any kind of community, any kind of support, especially like… The university I’m at at the moment is going through a cultural transition, one might say, in the situation that we’re looking at and being able to be like, “How about we talk to this person? How about we look at that? This is my understanding of the system, this is what I know, and I think somebody else might be a better human. How about we go and talk to them together?” And I think that that matters because that is establishing yourself as a residence life professional is someone they can trust and connect with somebody else.
But I think, for me, a point that I wanted to highlight that you talked about as well is a baseline knowledge of the systems that exist so we can support students in understanding that baseline knowledge of the systems that exist. Of course, there are people above me in different offices that know more about their functional area, and I’ve made very active choices to learn about our gender inclusive housing process, to learn about how it works, to learn about how the bills work in those spaces and what the rules and regulations and laws around bathroom access are so that I can answer students’ questions, because residence life and housing is so uniquely situated in that we are usually the first staff they meet outside of orientation.
Their first day on campus, their first day in their home, we’re who they meet. So having that baseline knowledge to answer their questions in the same way that we would have that baseline knowledge to connect a student to fraternity life or to connect a student to another space they want to engage in that would make them feel seen and safe, that is where our role comes in, to me.
April Callis:
Yes. And then back to that breadcrumbing-
Noah Montague:
Breadcrumbing.
April Callis:
… that not just having that knowledge, but what are ways that you make sure that all of your students know that you have that knowledge. If it’s just like, “Ask me more about,” and you’ve got a list of things that students can ask you about… Because once again, they don’t necessarily trust that staff have that knowledge, because oftentimes they run into staff that don’t. Any way that we can hint at, let them know, show, demonstrate that we have some of that knowledge so that then they can come to us is amazing.
Noah Montague:
For sure, and I completely agree. And I think that gets us pretty well into another question, thinking about… We’re kind of talking about reacting to situations and preparing. We’ve started talking about a little bit as how we can be better prepared. But thinking about how residence life staff can be more proactive in supporting trans students, especially considering those systems we’re talking about, in reducing harm instead of waiting for a student to raise a concern to us. What are some thoughts that you have as far as how staff can be more proactive in that space?
April Callis:
Yeah. And I think a lot of it goes back to everything we’ve been talking about, like knowing the system and breadcrumbing and asking for pronouns and all of this, but also just not assuming. Because I think sometimes all of us, we’re just going along, doing our thing until a student says, “Wait, that didn’t work for me.” And then we’re like, “Okay, let me change everything because I didn’t mean to do that.” So to your point, how do we put systems in place for ourselves now? Now, is the time for all of us to be thinking about how are we going to be supportive allies affirming to our trans and non-binary students, not after the thing has happened.
So taking that moment to figure out… Okay, if you’re doing door decs, everybody’s doing door decs everywhere, how are we figuring out what names to have, and how are we asking that before you put a name up and then, “Oh, let me know if you need me to change it”? That’s good, and you’ve potentially deadnamed somebody. So how are you asking these things beforehand? Is there a system in place? Is there a way that you could be reaching out and doing these things proactively?
I think at every institution, it’s going to look a little different, but that commonality is exactly what you’re talking about, asking people like, “Are you doing outreach beforehand?” that you’re asking for pronouns before people even get on campus. Because the other thing that I hear is our prospective students are like, “What’s going to happen? What’s going to happen? What’s going to happen? Am I going to be…” and their anxiety is ramping up and up and up in the weeks before they get to our institution. So how do we let them know before they even get there that they’re going to be okay?
Noah Montague:
Yeah. Something that my institution is actually doing right now to try to kind of mitigate and do a little bit better for the trans and non-binary community and for the queer community largely that I think fits this really interestingly is within our gender-inclusive housing process that, in talking to the human who is now running that process at my school, again to breadcrumb, to understand, “Okay, what is going on so that I can guide students through this more effectively?” And something that we talked about was that she is… Instead of just having it be a couple submissions on paper, they’re actually doing in-person meetings to know the student who is having this ask, who is having this need, to understand what they’re actually looking for, to then be able to do it. I think that including trans and non-binary students and queer students in the conversation of what the living environment should look like, could look like, or what would be most affirming that we’re currently doing.
When I heard we were doing that, I got excited about that space because it isn’t just a reactive decision. It is, “We’re noticing that this process might not be the best process. Let’s talk about that and figure out, ‘Okay, what actually are you looking for? What do you actually need? What are your bathroom needs so that we don’t put you in a building that doesn’t meet that and then we have to adjust later? What are your living situation needs? Are you looking for a suite style hall? Is living with six people going to be affirming, or would you rather live in a double? Is a single going to be more affirming?” Having those one-on-one conversations with students who are expressing to us a need is a way to me to better design those systems because we’re including them in the conversation.
We’re not making decisions for our trans and non-binary students, we’re asking them, and then working to meet that need, which… It’s so interesting and it feels so simple, but it’s like… I’ve worked at this institution for seven years, and it’s the first year we’re doing it. I’ve been thinking about it often, and especially within the context of this conversation as well.
April Callis:
Okay. So I’ve seen this shift that is needed to happen in this current moment that we’re in. All of us previously, we were aware of the data, right?
Noah Montague:
Yeah.
April Callis:
So we know trans and non-binary students are struggling, the sense of belonging, they’re struggling in their residence hall, they’re struggling with bathroom needs. I think oftentimes we put in these shortcuts of like, “Okay, if a student tells us they hold this identity, then this is what’s going to happen,” and now there’s been pushback of people saying, “We are creating special benefits for people around identity,” and we know that’s not what we were doing. We’re trying to respond to these clear needs that we see, going through the data, but so now I think there has been a shift towards what’s the need. Instead of what’s the identity, what’s the need. And that’s actually incredibly helpful because it turns out, as you started with, trans and non-binary students, not a monolith, not everybody wants to live in a private, not everybody needs a private bathroom. That’s not what everybody’s looking for. And so instead of having a process that says, “Okay, if you hold this identity, this happens,” what does it look like to say, “If you have a housing need, come talk to us.” That is hard. That is real hard by the way, right?
Noah Montague:
Yes, it is.
April Callis:
Instead of like, “Check some boxes,” how-
Noah Montague:
It’s significantly more work.
April Callis:
It is so much more work, and also it’s so much better for the students. We put these shortcuts in places because we needed to, we were being affirming, and now I think that exactly what you’re talking about is just figuring out that need and then how are we able to meet it. And also, the other thing I will say here is, back to the breadcrumbing, which I’m going to talk about nonstop apparently, we’re also in a moment where we are all so scared that the work that we’re doing is going to be misunderstood, because we’re seeing it be misunderstood. I know the work that I do. I know that I’m doing this work to affirm all students. I know I’m following laws while I’m doing it, and also there is a fear that somebody’s going to take a sentence of something I say or write and take this out of context. So what this fear does is we see less things being published online. We see people less likely to talk openly about what is available because of that fear that things are going to be misunderstood.
As our students are coming in with more fear of, “Am I going to be able to live where I need to? Am I going to be able to be seen fully for who I am in my housing?” we have institutions that are maybe taking down websites because of fear that they will be misunderstood or we have places less willing to write things down, whatever it is. I understand how we got here, but, once again, this gets back to then how are we letting students know that these policies… that they can go and ask, and what is that universal design of a system of, “If you have a housing need, here’s where you go and somebody’s going to talk to you and it’s actually going to happen,” knowing that also budget cuts and how do we afford to actually hire people to do that work. Luckily, I don’t have to think about that part.
Noah Montague:
But I think that’s also where that proactive piece comes in for me is how are we making students aware of the resources that do still exist and making sure that that is visible, making sure that staff know about those things. The amount of staff that I’ve interacted with who have no concept of how the gender-inclusive housing process works, not even to a fault of their own, but in that because of that fear, maybe we’re not talking about it, or because of those laws in place, maybe we’re no longer training RAs and student staff on supporting queer and trans and non-binary students. Maybe we’re not having those conversations anymore, but how do we make sure that people know? And that is such a fascinating question that probably is a whole other podcast episode for us to talk about.
April Callis:
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
Noah Montague:
But I think that we’re talking so much now about these resources and about knowledge and about communicating with students and challenges and struggle and what comes into play in working with and supporting trans and non-binary students, what about when trans students are fully supported in a residential community? What does that joy look like in your experience in that space? I think when we’re talking about marginalized students, it’s very easy to talk about the struggles and to talk about the challenges and, in this space, to talk about the shift in the conversation, but there’s so much joy in our community as well, and I’d love to just hear a little bit about your perspective on what that looks like in the residential space.
April Callis:
Yeah. Thank you for asking that. I love that because you’re right, and I find myself… Oftentimes when I’m talking about this population, because the struggles are so apparent in all of the data that we get, we’re leaning into this deficit model and then forgetting to talk about the amazing, thriving, joyous community that I’m so lucky to be able to have been a part of. I do love to get to think about that and for us to be intentional about how are we creating the spaces where that can happen. I think that joy, trans and non-binary joy, a lot of that is going to be when you feel like you can be 100% who you are, and so some of it is in the small moments of when we have created space so that…
I’ve talked to students who say their ideal is just to get to be a student when they don’t have to explain who they are, where they don’t have to feel scared, where they can just show up and experience all of the amazing things that we offer at universities, right?
Noah Montague:
Mm-hmm.
April Callis:
So I think that might be the joy, and also it’s how are we creating spaces where we are specifically uplifting these identities? And I think that’s hard, once again, in our current cultural moment where there are so many misunderstandings. What are ways that if we’re doing a film night, we’re showing films with representation of trans and non-binary people and not where the trans person dies? What does it look like to show films about trans joy that’s not come to a very special film screening, but just as a film about humans because that’s what it is? Where are we creating these spaces of representation and spaces where we’re uplifting?
The data also shows, by the way, that something that helps increase that sense of joy is when our students are able to be in community with faculty and staff who are affirming, and also alum. I know within working with various residential colleges, working with different RAs and staff, I’ve done events in residence halls where we’re bringing alum that are sharing their story and then everybody’s getting to talk about the joys that they’ve experienced. I have also thought about like, “What are ways that we’re bringing in faculty maybe that are doing research around this area that we can uplift that? What are the partnerships that we can do with individuals who are maybe holding similar identities?” And maybe we’re not saying, “We’re having this person come to talk about this identity,” but sometimes it matters to see a thriving trans or non-binary person talking about their life and that they are thriving. How are we showing possibility models of trans joy to allow a space where that even feels possible in this moment of fear?
Noah Montague:
Yeah. I love a lot of what you talked about because it connected to what I thought I was going to talk about for this answer and now where I’m at as well, particularly in this piece about community and bringing people in.
In residence life, oftentimes we are doing those partnerships and bringing folks into spaces to have conversations with students, to sit in community. And I know that I’ve made very purposeful decisions in who I’m inviting in to talk to my students. I am not going to bring someone into this community that I don’t think is going to be affirming or that I don’t know is going to be affirming in working with my students because I’m aware of the population that I have, I’m aware of the students that I’m working with, and that’s important to make sure that the folks that we’re introducing them to are also going to meet those values and meet that need of what they’re looking for.
But I also think that for me… and I’ll tell a brief story. One of the students that I work with, queer and trans joy, specifically trans joy in this conversation, is the Black trans man who comes into my office and talks about how he found who he is in my residence hall. That is the joy to me. That is not only him feeling comfortable telling me that, but him getting to live, to live, as who he is and to live out his experience and to be joyous about that with me, with my staff, and with our fellow students. We met a couple days ago and to hear that he doesn’t think that he would have come out if not for this community, I think, oh, I’ll get emotional, that is the joy and that is the power of what a residential space can do for a student. When it is properly developed, when students are truly supported, they can feel that joy in who they are and they can show up authentically and they can go to class.
I think to your own point, getting to be a student and not have to be afraid for a moment I think gets to be some of that joy as well.
April Callis:
Yeah. You were making me think about so many different moments in the work, these specific moments of trans joy. I’m thinking about… We have an oral history project where I am and working with one of our residential colleges on a program where we were talking about the fact that trans people have always existed at our institutions, right?
Noah Montague:
Mm-hmm.
April Callis:
And we have archival proof of this. Having a student come up to me afterwards and say, “Oh, I belong here,” and I’m like, “I’m going to start crying. And also, yes, you do. Yes, you do,” and having that moment and getting to see that, and what are the ways that we are creating those moments. Absolutely.
Noah Montague:
Yeah. I knew this was going to be an emotional one. I had a feeling.
I guess, April, to wrap us up, I always like to close on some tangible advice for folks listening and thinking about ways, and we’ve talked about this a little bit already, but what might be a piece of tangible advice that you would give to new professionals, to folks listening, to residence life staff about supporting trans students in the hall?
April Callis:
I was about to start writing notes and immediately had 20 things come to mind.
Noah Montague:
I’m sure.
April Callis:
One, this might not be as tangible as I might like, but I think that this is the most important thing, our trans students are students, and our trans students are students who need support just like every other student. And when we are in this moment right now where identities are being politicized, it can be really easy to back away from that or have this fear of, “I don’t know how I’m allowed to support, and so what if I… I don’t want to get in trouble, and so what if I don’t?” I understand that, and these are students who need our support and they need our support now more than they ever have.
And so what are the ways that all of us within our roles can think about, “How do I do this? How do I learn?” One, “What am I able to do at my institution? What does support look like here?” make sure you know that. Take a moment. Stop listening to us and take a moment and go figure out what that policy looks like. Who can you ask about what that looks like? Meet up with somebody in your gender and sexuality center if you are lucky enough to live in a state where that still exists. And if you’re not, there are still individuals who are going to know. So go to maybe your dean of students office, go to your housing office, talk to somebody to figure out what you’re able to do.
And then two, take a moment and think about, “What are two breadcrumbs that I’m going to leave for people? Is it I’m going to have my pronouns in my email signature that I’m sending out to students if I’m in a state that allows me to continue to do that? Is it I’m going to start introducing myself this way, or I’m going to have my pronouns on my name tags, or I’m going to start asking for that?” Whatever it is, just think of two ways, “I’m going to have a different representation on the flyers that I’m creating for events.” There’s a bunch of different ways you can do this, but just come up with a couple tangible ways that you can, and then go from there.
Noah Montague:
Yeah. The only other thing that I think that I would add on is show up.
April Callis:
Yes. Yes, yes, yes.
Noah Montague:
Show up, I think. Everything that you said is very like, “Know the systems, know how to advocate, and then actually do it.” But I also think that showing up, especially now and when we’re thinking about trans students, matters so much. On my campus, we had a Trans Day of Visibility and a Trans Day of Remembrance event, and I have reflected immensely on being the only residence life staff member present there, and that’s something that I thought a lot about, and that I know that students noticed, and I know that that had an impact, both that I was there… and I know that they noticed that I was the only one there because our students are paying attention to who shows up for them right now and who is present and who is actively advocating in the ways that we can choose to do, and I do know that it is scary, to your own point as well.
We both don’t want to mess up, and we don’t want to cause harm, and we don’t want to lose jobs. I think there’s all of those things that residence life staff and all staff do have to weigh in a lot of different places. Showing up for students can look a lot of different ways, and it can look a lot of the ways that we’ve talked about today, so I would encourage… As far as a tangible piece of advice, that would be my biggest thing to encourage folks to think about, “How can I show up safely for a population that needs us?”
April Callis:
Yes, yes, absolutely. And once again, because I’m always like, “Data, data, data,” we know and we have peer-reviewed research showing that for staff to be at events, just being there, matters. That is something that our students are seeing. And from research that I just did, one of the things that students ask for is that they want to feel supported from, yes, upper administration, but just all the way down from faculty, from staff, and that one way to show that is just being the thing, so absolutely.
Noah Montague:
Yeah. Amazing. Well, that just about wraps us up then today, April. Thank you so much for joining me. I hope you had a fun time.
April Callis:
Yes. I mean, I’m sure you could tell. I get so passionate about this. I’m like waving around. All of a sudden, I’m right here in the camera. I love to be able to talk about this, so thank you so much for having me.
Noah Montague:
Thank you for being here.
April Callis:
Yeah, of course.
Noah Montague:
And thank you all for joining us on today’s episode of ResEdChat. If you have an idea for a topic or a person you’d like us to have on the show, please let us know by reaching out to Roompact. And as always, keep taking care of yourselves and each other and enjoy the rest of your day. Bye for now.
April Callis:
Bye.
