(Article edited 11/29/11. In the original article, it was inaccurately stated that Sapphire Fein did not know any openly transgendered students. Other errors in the original version include the misspelling of Abrien Ancheta’s and Aleph Thong’s names.)

De Anza College’s Gay Straight Alliance commemorated the Transgender Day of Remembrance by erecting tents in the main quad Nov. 20, the club displayed several educational posters highlighting the difficulties faced by transgendered individuals, such as bullying, high suicide rates and improper terminology.

GSA secretary Sapphire Fein said many non-transgendered people, or “cisgendered,” get confused about the difference between sex and gender, or a person’s physical characteristics and how individuals identify themselves, respectfully. This can lead “cisgendered” people to have misunderstandings about transgender people, sex change therapy and operations.

“They think that they’re changing their gender, but that’s not really how you want to look at it,” said Fein. “You want to really understand that a person has always been whatever gender, they’re just transitioning to make themselves comfortable.”

Fein said there are transgendered students on campus but did not know the specific number. She cited the difficulties faced by openly transgendered people as a motivation to stay closeted.

A pamphlet created by the GSA listed “Do’s and Don’ts” when talking to a transgendered person and included detailed descriptions of sexual reassignment surgery and hormone treatment.

“Do’s” include asking what gender pronouns the person prefers, and only speaking about transgender issues in a safe and private space, while “Don’ts” included using the ward “tranny” or making assumptions about their sexual orientation.

A display that the stories of nine transgender teens, ranging from 13 to 19 years old, who had killed themselves. The poster stated that one-third of LGBT youth have reported attempting suicide.

The tent also featured a small memorial to De Anza student Abrien Ancheta. Ancheta, a transgender who self-identified as male, died on May 2011 due to undisclosed causes.

GSA member Aleph Thong knew Anceta while he was in middle school. Thong said that though she has been within the LGBT community, there has never been much transgendered representation. When she heard of Anceta’s desire to go through with sex change therapy, it gave Thong a personal connection to other transgenders.

“It was definitely interesting to know someone on a personal level who was going to transition,” said Thong.

She said she hoped the day’s event would contribute to reducing the difficulties faced by LGBT students.

“I hope that this might have informed a few other people at the school,” said Tong. “I just hope that these statistics will lower throughout the years. There’s not much you can do other than to educate.”

CROWDS – Sapphire Fein engages crowds around the GSA tent. (ALEX MENDIOLA / LA VOZ WEEKLY)