Protesters gather in the South Oval Tuesday for a dance protest and outfit competition while anti-trans activist Riley Gaines speaks at the Ohio Union. Credit: Kaitlan Harlan | Lantern Reporter
Over 35 protesters gathered on the South Oval Tuesday evening in response to an Ohio State Turning Point USA event featuring Riley Gaines — a prominent former collegiate swimmer known for advocating against transgender women’s participation in women’s sports.
The protest, which included Ohio State students and community members, began at 6 p.m., an hour before Gaines’ presentation — titled “The Fight is Far From Over” — was scheduled to begin in the Ohio Union’s U.S. Conference Bank Theater.
The protest was organized by the Trans Experimental Action Party, a Columbus-based organization that advocates for transgender and queer rights, according to its Instagram page. Protesters danced near a speaker playing upbeat music in the center of the South Oval, giving speeches and briefly chanting, “F*** Riley Gaines.”
Penelope Rupert, one of the event’s organizers, said she drew the dancing protest idea from ACT UP, also known as AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power. The movement “staged protests outside the FDA’s headquarters, disrupted its public meetings and pressured its leaders into speeding up the approval of experimental drugs for patients dying of AIDS,” according to the Associated Press.
“The goal with Trans Experimental Action is to re-engage the tradition of flamboyant nonviolence — direct action created by groups such as ACT UP in the ‘90s,” Rupert, also a second-year graduate student in comparative studies, said.
Rupert said she noticed a lack of creativity and energy in recent on-campus protests and decided to revive a different style of activism.
“Modes of protesting where you go somewhere and yell at a building and leave are very draining,” Rupert said. “Our hope is that our protests actually give us and the people that we are engaging with energy.”
Juniper Czaja, an event organizer and Columbus community member, said the protest was meant to show that Gaines and other anti-transgender speakers aren’t welcomed by the LGBTQ+ community at Ohio State.
“I think it’s important that we not only make it certain that they aren’t welcome here, but we make it certain that the groups they are trying to target are welcome here,” Czaja said.
Casey Vinegas, a community member and protester, said the protest is both an act of resistance and a way to uplift the university’s queer population.
“We’re trying to bring together the queer, trans and even supporters of the community, or really try to bring them in to kind of celebrate ourselves,” Vinegas said.
Around 45 minutes into the protest, organizers held an “outfit competition,” which included categories such as “drag” and “camp.” Participants danced in the center of the group, showing off their outfits and cheering one another on as they competed, with winners being decided by applause levels.
Vinegas said the protest was a signal to participants of TPUSA’s event that queer people will continue to exist despite their claims.
“The reason we wanted to do it right in front of the place [Gaines] is speaking in right now is to show her that even though she says we don’t exist, we’re gonna exist right in front of your face, whether you like it or not,” Vinegas.
Evelyn Evergreen, a second-year in English and a protester, said she is frustrated by Ohio State’s decision to host Gaines on campus, as she feels such events might pose a threat to the university’s transgender community.
In addition, Evergreen said she has felt a shift away from the welcoming community she encountered when she first arrived on campus.
“To come to this place where my first year and a half were fantastic and just a really welcoming community, like every professor I know is incredibly progressive and a great ally,” Evergreen said, “It’s just the administration, frankly they’re doing fascism, like there’s no other way to put it.”
Ultimately, Evergreen said protesters wanted to communicate the message that the university “can’t just do whatever [it wants]” without receiving any on-campus pushback.
“I like to connect with people and show that we’re not just going to go out quietly,” Evergreen said.
