At John Jay, we’re fostering an environment that promotes inclusivity, celebrates our differences, and believes in justice for all. In honor of Pride month, we’re commemorating and acknowledging the resiliency, strength, dignity, and beauty of John Jay’s LGBTQ+ community. The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to uphold the rights of the LGBTQ+ community and protect them from discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity was a victory for fairness, for all. In the following short essay, Sam Ascencio ’22, an English major and Vice President of John Jay’s LGBTQ+ Allies Club, shares his feelings about the landmark decision.

If you want the truth, it’s hard for me to say I’m trans. I’m gender fluid. Sometimes that means I feel like a guy, sometimes I feel like a girl, sometimes neither, and sometimes, I’m in between. I feel like I never truly belong or exist. I constantly have to tell people that I do exist and that I’m real, and that I don’t just fit into these labels that they want to put me in.

Growing up, I was always told that I wasn’t beautiful enough because I didn’t wear makeup. I was asked, “Why would you want to be a guy?” That’s the question, isn’t it? Why would anybody want to be this way? Why would anybody want to be persecuted? It’s not something I want, it’s something I am. I’m trans.

I struggle when thinking about my future. I think to myself, Am I going to suffer? I remember taking a Gender Studies class, and we began talking about how transgender people don’t have rights, and my classmates were shocked by this. They were shocked that trans people could get fired just for being trans. Now, this information wasn’t new to me. This is something I had to consider when it came to every job I ever wanted. For me the job application process is different because I have to decide if I’m going to tell my potential employer who I really am. Sometimes I don’t even use my real name because I don’t want someone to know that I’m trans. I know that once I graduate, I’m changing my name to the name I want.

It’s surprising to me to think that two conservative judges actually defended my right to exist. The mere fact that somebody even had to defend my right to exist at all, scares me. I’m happy that the Supreme Court passed this decision, but I’m also furious it took so long. Even now, just because the law is in place and the law protects me, it doesn't mean I’m protected from people. Just because the Supreme Court decided to protect our rights, doesn’t mean that change is going to immediately ripple across our country.

I believe the real change starts with each and every one of us. It starts in our homes. It starts in our schools, with us as students. It starts by changing our language; we should be using humanizing language and gender neutral terms that promote inclusivity as opposed to isolation. We should all work to understand pronouns and be willing to change how we speak about people. Real change starts with us, and it starts with seeing each other for the humans that we are. We all deserve to have our rights protected.