A quick recap on all the suggestions that we have received for the wording of the prize thus far.
Lee Bender has suggested this:
Awarded annually to a Wells College student who has demonstrated a commitment to transgender issues through service to the community via activism, visibility, literary, or artistic endeavors.
We've also heard the suggestion that the prize be given to a transgender student specifically.
Vic Munoz has also suggested the prize be named The William Nicholas Liberi Memorial Prize for TLGBQ Activism.
My previous suggestion was: The William Nicholas Liberi Memorial Prize: Awarded annually to the member of the Wells College Community who has demonstrated a commitment to transgender and queer issues, especially through hir services as an ally to the tlgbq community.
Does anyone else have any feedback towards these suggestions or other suggestions on the prize name, or the prize description? We would like to nail this down soon, because we feel that the more stable the terms of the prize are, the more comfortable people will be sending in their donations. All of your feedback helps immensely.
Speaking of donations, some have already come in, and we will be receiving weekly reports from alumnae relations as money continues to come in. We've set a fundraising goal of $5000, and over the coming week, we'll put up an icon that will track our progress towards that goal.
After we get the terms of the prize squared away we can move towards deciding who should judge the prize. Please keep your feedback coming in that area as well. Later in the week we will recap the suggestions for judging committees for the prize.
Monday, October 15, 2007
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3 comments:
Having the prize only available to trans students specifically doesn't sit well with me, but I'm having a hard time articulating why exactly. I guess having a selection committee decide who is trans and is therefore eligible for the award bugs me. What language people personally use to "label" themselves can be tricky. Maybe is candidates for the prize were all self-nominated, but... I dunno.
Also, I think that activism, even if it does sometimes miss the mark (like the example that Lee brought up about "No one knowing what transgender means, and not having a dialog, but strewing the names of dead trannies all over the dining hall, along with how they died..." is better than no activism and can be a springboard for discussion and hopefully a step in the right direction. Also, being trans doesn't make one immune to that sort of (what you might be calling) "misguided" activism--names were strewn around the dining hall for Transgender Day of Remembrance when Will was co-chair of LBQTA. I feel like-- to an extent, "in the bubble" we can be students of activism--learning what does and doesn't work and what is helpful and what can be hurtful...I don't know, I'm just rambling and making a whole lot of no sense, but uh... there it is.
Also, will there always be a trans student at Wells to receive the award? If there is only one, do that automatically get the prize that year?
I agree with Meghan that it would be difficult to make the prize specific to a trans student because people define their own gender(s) differently. It may not always be comfortable or appropriate for a panel of judges to decide who is a trans student. I do like that Lee's wording of the prize
"Awarded annually to a Wells College student who has demonstrated a commitment to transgender issues through service to the community via activism, visibility, literary, or artistic endeavors"
includes visibility as a characteristic, and I guess that an individual could increase trans visibility on campus by being trans and being out as trans, and that that could have an affect on the decision to award hir the prize.
How about a conglomerate of all 3 suggestions?
"The William Nicholas Liberi Memorial Prize for TLGBQ Activism: Awarded annually to a member of the Wells College Community who has demonstrated a commitment to transgender and queer issues as an ally to the tlgbq community via activism, visibility, literary, and/or artistic endeavors"
Also, unless the prize is selected exclusively through self-nominations (and I don't think it should be), I do not think a crition should be the recipient is trans. As has already been pointed out, it is not anyone's job or right to label anyone else.
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