A UF group is educating students about queer and transgender minority students this week.
Queer People of Color United is working with other multicultural groups to hold its first Queer and Transgender People of Color Week, to inform others about queer students of color on campus. Michael Caputo, the president of the group, said he wanted to highlight the minority queer community, which he said is overlooked.
Caputo, a UF mathematics and statistics senior, said he wants to bring all of the queer and transgender communities together because they are disconnected. He hopes the week will help students collaborate in the future.
Queer Asians and Pacific Islanders and Hispanic-Latinx Queers will also participate in the week, the 21-year-old said.
Events, which started Saturday and will continue through Thursday, include “Mi Familia,” which will discuss how Hispanic queer students are impacted by their families. Four more events will be hosted this week.
Dee Jolly, 21, a student ambassador with UF’s LGBTQ+ Affairs, said she has worked on QTPOC Week since before Winter Break.
“We want to provide queer and trans people of color solidarity and a conversation,” she said.
A lot of these groups are overlooked, and the week will bring recognition to them, she said.
“It feels radical, and I’ve never felt this much support,” she said.
