Community panel brings personal experience to the discussion

The community panel was engineered by USC and SILC in the hopes that the student body could learn about each other’s experiences with gender. Selected members of senior and sophomore classes and faculty members from history and English answered questions and facilitated discussion.

US Principal Ken Jaffe opened up to the time in Huss with the Courageous Conversations compass poster and advised having compassion for fellow students.

The panel was opened by Maryeva Gonzalez with the question “What does gender mean to you?”

This kick-starter allowed members of the panel to talk about their own experiences with gender binary identity, non-binary identities, gender roles, and pronouns.

The conversation addressed safety in various public spaces, holding each person accountable, and allowing people to express themselves.

The panel opened up to questions from the audience, but much of the Q&A involved students adding their own experiences, or asking for more resources from the panel on how to navigate unfamiliar gender identities.

The panel asked everyone to have a healthy dose of accountability and vulnerability to create a better community.