Transgender Rights Display in Wright College's Library Vandalism

By: Alexandra Brown

A display in the library for Trans Visibility Day was anonymously defaced and stolen from on the week of March 31. 

From March 18 to April 7, the library held a display in the library stating that “March 31 is Trans Day of Visibility”. There were 10-12 books on display during that time, but six of them were missing. 

In addition, two student-made Trans Rights posters from the March 19th Activist fair that were posted on the display were removed on April 7.

“I came in one morning, and six out of 12 [books] were removed, so I searched the catalog for some of those titles, and they said they were in place but I didn’t see them anywhere in the library,” said Library Chair Tineka Scalzo. “A week later, I checked again and the books were not in the stacks where they should be, so they’re presumed stolen.”

In addition to the missing books, the Trans Visibility Day sign was disturbed. One morning, the sign was askew. On another day, the sign was flipped around so that the words were not visible. On April 7, the sign had been defaced with the words “IT’S OVER”. 

Scalzo says, “I came in the morning and my colleagues told me that somebody wrote 'IT’S OVER' and circled the date in red ink. My colleagues thought it would be hurtful for people to see it so they took it down and threw it away right away.”

As of April 21, four of the missing books have been found in book returns. Another display has been set up, with the title, “Free People Read Freely.” Students are encouraged to engage by writing down and posting what diverse perspectives or topics they want to see more of in the library.

“I want it to be an opportunity for dialogue. We want to provide this information so people can understand different perspectives," said Scalzo.

Display explaining the Anti-trans activity and encouraging student discussion. Photo Credits: Alexandra Brown