By Lillian Gray
The LGBTQ+ Equity Center held a community day Tuesday to celebrate Transgender Day of Visibility.
Started in 2009, this day of recognition was founded to celebrate the transgender community and raise awareness of the discrimination it faces. Although the day is not an official federal holiday, since 2023 it has been recognized by the U.S. government, honoring the millions of transgender people worldwide, and the over 2.8 million transgender adults and youth in the U.S., according to The Williams Institute.
The Equity Center hosted celebratory activities, such as cookie decorating and a collaborative art project, as well as a series of conferences that discussed a variety of topics, including available LGBTQ+ courses at UMD and discussions exploring gender, transness and shared learning.
Freshman English and cinema and media studies double-major Annabel Stefanov attended one of the discussions about maintaining identity and how labels can be both limiting and crucial in creating connections.
Stefanov shared that in the past, she attended schools where she felt she could not be open about many things, such as discussions about gender and sexuality. Now, she is always pleasantly surprised when she is surrounded by people who have similar experiences.
Stefanov saw this day as a way to raise awareness about something that some people may not think about daily.
Clementine Bills, a senior computer science major, stopped by the Equity Center during the event accidentally and joined in on some of the festivities. Bills, a transgender woman, says that she doesn’t really understand the purpose of Transgender Visibility Day.
“All of the issues that are issues are still issues,” Bills said. “I’m not any more visible today than I am on any other day.”
River Michael, a junior architecture major, feels as though the current administration is denying queer and transgender people’s existence.
“They’re hitting the stop on the whole conversation, and that’s part of the problem,” he said. “Because a conversation needs to be happening right now.”
Michael also said that he feels as though the Equity Center is almost like having a living room on campus for people who are queer and trans. Not everyone will come into the living room; some might stay in their own rooms, but he knows that is where his community is and that he is welcome in that space — a space where conversations are encouraged and supported.
This event allowed Cliff Nolan, a sophomore civil and environmental engineering major, to celebrate the day with many of his friends.
“It just seemed like a good place to celebrate the diversity on campus and learn more about these issues that are so important today and affect a lot of people that I know and love,” Nolan said.
Nolan is also a part of the Campus Queers and Allies club and is getting more involved in events at the Equity Center.
“Visibility is important. It is to show that trans people are people,” Nolan said.
For Michael, who identifies as both genderfluid and transgender, this day is a way to bring people like him together. It is also a reminder to the cisgender community that “we’re here, we’re queer,” Michael said.
“I think for trans people it’s very important to know that we are not alone,” he said. “That we have other people who know what we’re going through, who get it, who will understand our experiences.”
Recent discrimination towards the transgender community has raised concerns for Michael. On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in favor of a Christian counselor who challenged Colorado’s conversion therapy ban.
“I think that it is a very worrisome time to be visibly queer,” he said. “But I think that that’s all the more reason to look like I do, with dyed hair and pronouns and all.”
Featured Image: A llama plushie wearing a transgender themed Testudo sticker sitting on a couch in the LGBTQ+ Equity Center during the Transgender Day of Visibility event on March 31, 2026. Photo by Lillian Gray.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article misstated that Clementine Bills is a computer science and Latin double-major. Bills is a computer science major and a Latin language and literature minor. Previous version: “Clementine Bills, a senior computer science and Latin double-major, stopped by the Equity Center during the event accidentally and joined in on some of the festivities.” Current version: “Clementine Bills, a senior computer science major, stopped by the Equity Center during the event accidentally and joined in on some of the festivities.“