Students gathered at the CUC Flagpole to demonstrate support for Transgender Day of Remembrance on Nov. 20.
Spectrum, a Lehigh club dedicated to fostering inclusion and diversity for LGBTQ+ students and allies, hosted the event and provided attendees with candles to mourn and raise awareness for transgender victims of violence.
According to the Human Rights Campaign’s annual report, at least 30 transgender individuals lost their lives to violence in 2024.
Maddie DeAngelis, ‘25, the president of Spectrum, led the event and said it’s important to remember lives lost and to keep fighting for justice. She said the fight is far from finished despite progress toward acceptance and tolerance over the past several decades.
Before reading the names of the victims aloud at the event, DeAngelis told the crowd it’s important to recognize that these are the only the names of known victims, and more trans victims may exist beyond the report.
“Many of these horrific deaths go unreported or misreported,” DeAngelis said. “We honor those whose stories have not been told. Even if their names are not known, they are not forgotten.”
Julia DeAngelis, ‘26, said they have attended this annual Spectrum event three times, and this year had the largest turnout.
“After the election, I was thinking, ‘Oh, God, what can I do?’” they said. “And this is the first step I did, was showing up for this ceremony.”
Maddie DeAngelis said she believes this year’s presidential election has motivated people to engage in more activism for marginalized communities due to concerns associated with the incoming Trump administration.
She also said many people are concerned about their rights, including those on Lehigh’s campus.
Maddie DeAngelis said she spoke with Ariel Torres, the associate director of the Pride Center, after Election Day. He told her the typical four to five students who are in the center at a given time increased to 25 students throughout the day after the election.
Evelyn Wimmer, ‘25, also said she attended Spectrum’s vigil because she felt overwhelmed by the results of the election.
“It’s scary, but we’re gonna have to make it through this together,” Wimmer said. “We can’t make it through it alone.”
Maddie DeAngelis, ‘25, places flags in the ground around the CUC Flagpole during the Transgender Day of Remembrance vigil on Nov. 20. Thirty flags were planted and about a dozen candles held in honor of the known members of the transgender community that were murdered. (Syria Flucas/B&W Staff)
Ryleigh Schulz, ‘26, the secretary of Spectrum, said the significance of the event was raising awareness of transgender victims of violence.
Schulz said she was surprised by the results of the Human Rights Campaign’s annual report this year, and she doesn’t think it’s widely known how many lives are lost to trans violence every year.
“I didn’t know it was 30,” Shultz said “I didn’t know that there was a 14-year-old child killed in Pennsylvania for being transgender. So I think it’s a big eye opener and a really awful shock of reality, especially in light of the election.”
This year’s report opened with a section titled “The National State of Emergency Facing the Transgender Community in the United States,” which highlighted the Human Rights Campaign’s declaration of a National State of Emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans in 2023.
The declaration was prompted by the introduction of over 550 anti-LGBTQ+ bills which were introduced into state houses across the country.
“The annual number of anti LGBTQ+ bills have skyrocketed over the past few years, from 41 in 2018 to over 500 currently being evaluated in 2024,” DeAngelis said. “Here in Pennsylvania, there are six bills that are aimed against members of the LGBTQ+ community.”
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the six bills introduced in the state target healthcare and restrict student and educator rights. Sponsored by Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, House Bill 2546 calls for legislation to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion funding at Pennsylvania publicly-funded colleges and universities.
Maddie DeAngelis said it’s important to show that there are people on Lehigh’s campus who support trans individuals.
“We’re here,” Maddie DeAngelis said. “We have opinions that are just as valid as everybody else’s.”
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