Winter 2024 Grinnell Rainbow Connections

Winter 2024

Veritas et Arcus Iris

A Note from GRA Leadership: How Can We Respond?

As this newsletter goes out, many of us reside somewhere between shock at the recent presidential election results, and trepidation for what comes after Inauguration Day. The dark storm cloud of a rising right-wing populism in the U.S. brings valid concerns for the health and safety of all members of the LGBTQ+ community; the vitriol focused on the trans community is especially outrageous and dangerous.

Moving from fear and confusion to self-care, action, and community organization may seem overwhelming. Know that we’ve faced historic threats before, though, and gotten through them by supporting one another, educating our allies, and using advocacy and protest to shape policy. This onslaught, however, raises more questions: How can Grinnell College best support its LGBTQIA+ students in the face of such hostility? How will Republicans lash out at not only the trans community, but at same-sex marriage, international students, and even the Department of Education? What role can we as an alumni affinity group play in supporting one another, Grinnell students, and the college? As we all consider these questions, we welcome your feedback on how we can focus our efforts; and please join our Grinnell Rainbow Alumni group on Discord to continue the conversation.

At the same time, we have to take a moment to point with pride to Chase Strangio, ‘04, who on December 4, 2024 became the first known transgender attorney to present an argument to the U.S. Supreme Court. In his role as Co-Director of ACLU’s LGBT and HIV Project, Strangio–considered the nation’s leading legal expert on the rights of transgender people–challenged Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors (L.W. v. Skrmetti). We also report below on sage advice from Kat Rohn ‘08, on steps we can all consider to prepare for the next presidential administration; the optimism shown by the first Rainbow Alumni Internship Fund beneficiary, Kian Witherspoon, ‘25; a sampling of results from our first member survey; and an interview with Lucia Cheng, ‘23, who recently joined the GRA steering committee.

In solidarity,
Phoebe Lostroh ‘94 (plostroh@gmail.com)
Rick Rose ‘88 (rick.rose@yahoo.com)
Co-Chairs, Grinnell Rainbow Alumni
On behalf of the entire Steering Committee

Advice on Preparing for the Next Administration

The November election came as a shock to the LGBTQIA+ community and its allies writ large. With a newly empowered Trump administration, narrow majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate, and the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 as a blueprint, right-wing populist Republicans are intent on rolling back the rights our community has fought so hard to gain. In fact, Project 2025 calls for the elimination of all LGBTQ+ and DEI language from every federal rule, regulation, grant, contract and piece of legislation. Many of these actions will be challenged in court; however, the only certainty is that from Inauguration Day forward, Republicans will persist in demonizing us and pushing us out of civic life entirely.

This election season was brutal; the total effect of more than $200 million in misleading and demeaning political advertising directed at the trans community remains to be seen. With the initial fear and anxiety of election night giving way to uncertainty and a desire for practical preparation, we turned to Kat Rohn ‘08, a founding member of the Grinnell Rainbow Alumni and Executive Director of OutFront Minnesota for her insights. The goal is to provide folks with concrete steps and tools in preparation of any scenario.

“To the LGBTQ+ folks in my life,” wrote Kat, “who are looking for action steps to take to help prepare yourselves and insulate your loved ones from hostile actions under the next administration – here are five things that I am recommending.”

- Take time to review the legal rights and non-discrimination protections you have at state and local levels. Take time to review your workplace’s non-discrimination policies, healthcare documentation, and other relevant materials. Some places will be more protected than others, but it’s important for us to know what protections exist or don’t as a backstop. Follow an LGBTQ+ litigation or advocacy organization in your state so you can receive updates and guidance from a trusted source if things change.
- Get identity documents in order. For trans folks that means making name and gender marker changes if you want them, especially prioritizing federal documents that are easier to change before January 20, 2025 (i.e., passport, social security, etc.). For non-trans folks, renewing a passport now is also not an unwise step to take.
- Get legal protections in order. Get a marriage license if you and your partner are considering it. Even if you are married, consider establishing medical and legal power of attorney with your spouse. Set up your will and healthcare directives. If you have kids that are not biologically yours, initiate second-parent adoption proceedings.
- Establish care with a primary care physician and key providers for services you might need. Consider accelerating plans for surgical or medical care for reproductive or gender/medical issues that may be important and at risk. Where feasible, ask for larger and longer refills on medications that can be stored that may be at risk of litigation or supply chain disruption, including for gender-affirming care and HIV/AIDS prevention and care.
- Connect yourself to others. Our community has always sustained itself. And in many cases this has meant without any legal protections, safety nets, or formal access to things we need and deserve. We know how to do this, even when it’s hard.

There is a bright spot that rose from the 2024 election: history was made when representative-elect Sarah McBride (D), a state senator, won Delaware’s at-large seat in the House, becoming the first (and only) openly transgender member of the U.S. Congress. Said Kat: “I am overjoyed to have a trans voice in Congress to speak powerfully for us even as harmful bills are advanced next session. I’ve not met Rep. McBride personally, but I know her enough to know she will meet the moment and deliver for her state.”

An expanded, version of the list above is available from OutFront Minnesota, including information for asylum seekers, non-citizens, activists, and organizers.

The Education of Kian Witherspoon ‘25: First Rainbow Alumni Internship Granted

The summer of 2024 saw the first internship to be awarded from the Grinnell Rainbow Alumni Internship Fund. Kian Witherspoon, ‘25, majoring in Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies, spent the summer at the recently formed Coextensive Collective, in their hometown of Houston, Tex.. An experimental art collective focused on the queer and trans people of color (QTPOC) community, Coextensive hosts bi-monthly events such as markets, concerts, fashion shows, and artist showcases. Kian found the opportunity to leverage their knowledge and skills to curate the collective’s archives and engage in community care both exhilarating and challenging.

“This summer,” said Kian, “I immersed myself in skills I’d only dreamed of using… I learned how to navigate the challenges and contradictions of community organizing in a state that represses the voices, expression, and gathering of queer trans people of color. I now know that harm reduction has to happen in the wake of the state’s actions just as much as interpersonal conflict. I understand more now that centering the marginalized is messy work, but I would have it no other way than to support the quality of life of disabled queer trans people of color from my home.”

While GRA is proud of the Fund’s progress, more work remains. Randell Christopher ‘87, coordinator of the fundraising committee, stated “Our goal is to grow the Fund’s principal to ensure full annual support for an LGBTQ+ internship. This year, we aim to raise $100,000 toward that goal, empowering the next generation of Grinnell LGBTQIA+ leaders.”

If you are interested in donating to the Rainbow Alumni Internship Fund, a special $8,000 challenge grant is still in effect through December 31, 2024, doubling the impact of your donation. Your gift, and the generosity of Grinnell Rainbow Alumni, can develop and help focus a current LGBTQIA+ student’s personal and professional development, with an immediate, profound effect.

Said Kian: “It was life-changing. I built networks of care, grew professionally, and had a blast along the way!”

First Membership Survey Results

In an effort to understand our membership and its wants and needs, GRA conducted its first Membership Survey. With an astounding response rate of around 30 percent, members are obviously interested in the work we do, and the potential for further community involvement. “I think the response rate alone speaks to the level of enthusiasm and care our members have for the group,” said GRA Co-Chair Rick Rose, ‘88. “There is a lot of information to analyze, but it’s clear people are enthused about what we’re doing.”

In this newsletter edition and the next, we’ll highlight some of the results. Answers to questions have not been correlated to personal information, and will remain anonymous. For example, although we know the class years of our members through our membership database, we wanted to see if the survey reflected those numbers. And in general they did, including responses from alumni going back to the 1950s and 60s.

In general, our members are well satisfied with their time at Grinnell, with some caveats. On a scale of zero to ten, more than 75 percent of you rated your personal experience at an 8, 9, or 10; fewer than 5 percent rated it at 0, 1, 2, or 3. (Although, one could assume graduates with a truly poor experience wouldn’t be interested in joining any alumni group, even if it’s the GRA.)

One of the steering committee’s main interests was discerning which type of events people are interested in attending. While we still have to drill down by alumni decade, in-person live events capture your main focus (at first and third place). Our programming currently includes events at annual reunions (including Drag Show), and our popular Ren-Gay-Vous Pride events held in select locations around the country. The desire for virtual events wasn’t too far behind (second and fourth place), with “Virtual Workshops or Lectures” taking the lead in that option. Ren-Gay-Vous Pride Events this year took place in DC, Chicago, Des Moines and the Twin Cities; as we increase the number of places, we expect their popularity to grow. The same dynamic applies to our virtual events. [NOTE: If you are interested in organizing a Ren-Gay-Vous Pride Event in 2025, planning starts soon; please contact Sarah Smith-Benanti at smithben@grinnell.edu for more information.]

And finally for this edition, we wanted to know where respondents are located. Although members responded from all corners of the world (Hello UK and Mexico!) and the U.S., one metropolitan area stood out: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota! Grouped in second place were Chicago, Denver, NYC and Washington, DC (although because it’s divided into three geographic areas it didn’t show well on this chart). Although location won’t necessarily limit where live events will be held, the Twin Cities stood out in 2024 for their leading attendance among Ren-Gay-Vous Pride Events. Congrats Twin Cities!

Meet a Member: Lucia Cheng ‘23

(Fun fact: this photo is from this year’s North Hollywood Pride; more specifically, the Grindr truck that was at Pride.)

For people lucky enough to know Lucia Cheng ‘23, it’s clear that she’s a force to be reckoned with, as a volunteer and in all aspects of life. Here, she shares with us some insight into what Grinnell College meant to her, her experiences–including with Covid–and how she’s been faring since graduation. Lucia recently joined the Rainbow Alumni Steering Committee, working on networking and storytelling.

Can you tell a bit about yourself and your time at Grinnell College? What was your year and major?

I attended Grinnell from 2019-2023 (technically, I’m actually part of the class of 2024) and graduated with an English major and an American Studies concentration. I also started working for The Scarlet & Black my first year, which is part of the reason why I’m a journalist now. Happy to report that I’m now Iowa Public Radio’s 2025 News Fellow! (My first radio and web story for them just went live on Monday 12/9, which you can read here.)

Were you involved in any campus organizations or support networks at Grinnell?

A running list of pies I had my fingers in: Peer Connections Pre-Orientation Program (PCPOP), Power Hour/Disorientation Guide, an Afrofuturism MAP, my independent American Studies MAP, Asian American Association (AAA), the Writer’s Program with IES Dublin, voracious attender of Writers@Grinnell and other writing workshops (The Moth Storytelling Workshop!!), Drag Show, and occasional open mic speaker.

How did your time at Grinnell shape your personal growth or identity?

As I went through college, I learned a lot about my relationship to my parents. I probably have cPTSD. I didn’t learn the worst of it until I had to drop out halfway through my study abroad semester; a stroke landed my dad in the ICU, where my family also learned he had metastatic Stage 4 lung cancer. While the first half of college is colored by my eagerness to escape home and find new hope for myself, the second half has a sharp, bitter tang. The classic cynical fourth year, yes, but I also had to realize that being someone’s daughter is not a label that is shaken off easily.

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the College. Looking back from a year’s distance, I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes. Some of them, however, were due to things out of my control.

I also went to therapy for the first time at Grinnell! I’ve had a wild therapy journey since then, but I also had a lot of support from Student Affairs member Megan Baldree, S&B supervisor Lyle Muller, and my English advisor Sejal Sutaria. And the myriad of other professors and staff who were kind enough to let me inundate them with questions, including Professors Mevorach, Ng, Escandell, Phan, Marshack, and Quinsaat. My deepest apologies to Prof. Stephen Andrews though, my American Studies advisor–60% of our office hours consisted of me breaking down in tears. I was an absolutely atrocious student for him, but his wisdom still pervades. He taught me the value of close-reading from as many angles as possible.

How would you describe your identity on the LGBTIA+ spectrum during your time at Grinnell? Did it change later on?

I went into Grinnell as a cisgender pansexual, and came out as, well, a pansexual questioning gender. I don’t think my perception of my sexuality/gender changed much, in comparison to how being LGBTQ+ changed the way I see my connection to being Asian. Kimberlé Crenshaw, the pioneer of intersectionality, had me squishing and shaping myself like play-doh. I’m sure others have much more to say about their queer journey than I do.

What was the overall atmosphere like at Grinnell while you were there?

Pre-COVID Grinnell felt a lot different from post-COVID Grinnell. Perhaps my first year experience is biased from the excitement of being on a college campus for the first time. I wanted to soak up EVERYTHING the college had to offer, and by god, my agenda was way too full. I met a lot of upperclassmen who were willing to stray off the beaten path. To me, they felt much more willing to take risks and explore, even if it meant they would make mistakes.

Post-COVID takes on the moniker “Harvard of the Midwest,” for good and for bad. Incredibly good at whatever they chose to pursue, but perhaps to the point of debilitating perfection. But who knows! My anger at my situation definitely had me throwing up walls–and barbs. The S&B took the brunt of it, both in writing and in person. I reported on anti-Asian hate my first year, which opened the floodgates to me asking a shit ton of questions and being curious (nosy) enough to get the answers. I like to believe I helped bring investigative reporting to the newsroom, but that was probably inevitable! Much gratitude to those who mentored me, allowed me to mentor them, and everyone who let me help shape Poweshiek’s news coverage.

How do you hope your experiences and contributions as a Rainbow Alum will continue to shape the future of Grinnell?

I still feel like a duckling barely treading water. I recently saw a post that asked a reader to visualize what their most ideal self would look like. For me, I hope I become someone that a community can rely on. A queer elder of sorts, I guess. Someone that can keep bringing empathy into the newsroom. I wrote in an op-ed once that I would be a lighthouse that warns of danger, but that the light would become a bridge that connects us across sea and sky. I hope I can still chase that impossible horizon. I hope Grinnell does the same. I hope that knowing that ships are out there, somewhere, on the water, will be enough to help people remember that the world is much bigger than we think it is.

Queer Grinnell in the News–and News from Queer Grinnell

On December 4, 2024, Chase Strangio ‘04 became the first openly transgender attorney to present an argument at the U.S. Supreme Court. He did so in the challenge to Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for youth brought by Lambda Legal and the ACLU (L.W. v. Skrmetti).

The Des Moines Register: How a Grinnell alum became the first transgender lawyer to argue before US Supreme Court

The Scarlet and Black: Transgender alum Chase Strangio defends gender-affirming care before the Supreme Court

CNN: He’s the first known transgender lawyer to argue before Supreme Court. For Chase Strangio, the mission ‘is not lost on me’

What You Can Do Right Now

Looking for ways to get involved with Rainbow Alumni and help Grinnell? Here are a few suggestions:

- Forward this email to a friend! Know someone who should get this newsletter and join the Rainbow Alumni? Forward it to them to help us spread the word.
- Volunteer! Have some fun and make new friends with Grinnellians from across the decades! Take the volunteer survey here. Committees looking for participants include Networking and Storytelling; Events; Communications and Outreach; and Fundraising.
- Donate to support students! We are currently focused on fully funding the Grinnell Rainbow Alumni Internship Fund. Use the pull-down menu to select the fund of your choice.
- Come to our next event. Reconnect to Grinnellians in your area or online. Regional events will take place during Pride Month in your area. Stay tuned for more information.

Did a friend forward this email to you? Sign up as a member of the Grinnell Rainbow Alumni by submitting your email address here.