ºÙºÙÊÓƵ

Like many of you, I am devastated by the shooting that occurred last night at Club Q, a club for the LGBTQ+ community in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This latest atrocity happened just hours before today’s Transgender Day of Remembrance, which commemorates people lost to anti-transgender violence, emphasizing Black, Brown and Indigenous Transgender women and femmes, who are the most vulnerable to anti-trans violence.

The has documented what it calls an epidemic of violence against transgender and gender-nonconforming people, with 32 trans and nonbinary people killed this year alone. Many violent crimes committed against trans and nonbinary people go unreported.

Saturday’s tragedy follows the 2016 shooting at the gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Florida, where 49 people were killed and 53 were injured.

I’ve said this too often recently: We are experiencing increases in hate and violence against many communities. And while we may shake our heads in sadness and grief on a national level, we also recognize that many people in our community feel afraid and alone. Let it be clear that at ºÙºÙÊÓƵ, whenever one community is hurting, we all are.

The is here to center the lives and experiences of LGBTQIA+ people and will hold healing and processing space from noon to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for students, faculty and staff.

For our students, if you need immediate mental health support, please visit the for resource options through the and the . Faculty and staff can reach out to the , which serves the Davis and Sacramento campuses.