Do you feel like your body doesn’t match your gender identity?
Transgender and gender nonconforming students can find understanding in the Counseling Center’s support group, ASPECTS.
“The transgender community faces some of the most horrific discrimination in our country right now,” said group counselor and assistant professor Bethany Novotny.
There is an urgent need for welcoming and safe communities for transgender young adults, as suicide rates are at almost 50% of those who identify as transgender.
ASPECTS – Aligning Support, Pride, Education and Community for Transgender Students – provides a safe haven for those who struggle more in college when the stress of figuring out their identity, along with the stress of tests and classes and work, is also added to their list.
“They feel like they can’t exist as their self without fear of physical harm, mental and emotional harm, discrimination, prejudice,” Novotny said. “So, we need to create spaces where people can be themselves and flourish. I think creating spaces for people who typically are the ones who feel like they don’t have any space at all in this world is of the upmost importance. “
Student participants in the support group lead the discussions and share their experiences on campus in a variety of ways, including finding resources for specific needs, such as affirming medical assistance in the area.
“We need to provide support and acceptance through groups like this,” said Novotny. “A place that is designated for them to have community, support and resources. And I think that it’s important, especially at a university – where they are trying to find themselves anyway [in] their career, their self-identity – that we make space for them.”
Finding support is just as difficult, sometimes, as gathering the courage to ask for it.
“You matter,” Novotny said. “There are people in this world who care, even if maybe they’re not the people that surround you now. My door is always open. And I have had students come in just because they heard my name, and I’m an accepting and affirming person. And I value that reputation greatly. Any student at any time who needs support can find me. I really want people to know that there are people in this world that care, that affirm who they are and that they are valued.”
Among resources like this, Novotny has also been creating a proposal for an LGBTQ+ center on ETSU’s campus for a large space that students can gather and find their community.
ASPECTS meets on Thursdays from noon to 1:30 p.m. and is still open to newly interested students. For meeting location, questions or support, contact Bethany Novotny at novotny@etsu.edu.
