Image courtesy of Alberto Reyes/INFphoto.com

By Brenna Oricoli

Caitlyn Jenner stunned the world with her debut, which was chronicled in last night’s premiere of I Am Cait. The star has opened the door for many conversations and is paving a way for change, including within the Quinnipiac University community.

As more support for the LGBT community pours in through social media, Quinnipiac University looks to provide more support for its own transgender community.

“ ‘Transgender’ essentially means that one’s gender identity does not match one’s assigned or biological sex,” says Kenneth Wenning of Quinnipiac University Counseling.

Jenner has reached many milestones since making the transformation from a man to a woman. Examples include beating out President Barack Obama for the fastest-growing Twitter account, winning an Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYs and being the oldest woman to be featured on the cover of Vanity Fair.

While many have focused solely on Jenner’s looks, she has opened up the conversation about LGBT issues, including issues in our own community at Quinnipiac.

In order to continue this conversation, Quinnipiac University’s Gay, Lesbian and Straight Supporters (GLASS) provides a group for those who are questioning their sexuality or gender to speak with students who are already out and students who are supporters of those who are LGBT.

“Most people don’t understand the pressure society puts on transgender people, or queer youth in general, when they make bathrooms and housing separated by the two binary genders” says Quinnipiac University GLASS President, Jilian Pfeifer.

Although they’re no statistics of how many LGBT individuals attend Quinnipiac University, The Department of Residential Life tries to ease worries for all struggling students.

In regards to housing, Quinnipiac University Associate Director of Residential Life, Melissa Karipidis says, “Residential Life works to support all of our students who live at the university. If we receive a request for housing from a transgendered student, we will work with the student to best meet their needs.”

With the new QU Freshman Seminar intact, there are hopes that the curriculum will include a deeper look into the life of LGBT members.

“Honestly, awareness and education are key. Our QU101 class touches on the LGBT community, but it really should speak more to the college experience of an LGBT person so that others can put themselves in that person’s shoes” says Pfeifer, a senior.

Still many non-transgender people still struggle with the concept of becoming a different gender than you were born. Some even argue that in Jenner’s case, she should be stripped of her olympic medals.

“. . .[I]t’s undeniable that when Bruce Jenner was presented with those medals that they were earned through dedication and true athleticism. Same body, same person. Caitlyn Jenner is still that person and her past accomplishments should stand regardless of her transition. Winning Olympic medals is still a part of Caitlyn Jenner’s past regardless of the new identity she has made for herself” says Pfeifer.

That being said, Jenner proves that transgender individuals can still move forward with their lives as a new person by building upon the past as a different gender. Jenner supposedly selected the name “Caitlyn,” after watching Connecticut’s own Kaitlyn Tarpey in a Miss America Pageant in 2014. Jenner then changed the “K” to a “C” to shy away from the Kardashian’s signature initial.

According to TMZ, 23-year-old Tarpey thinks that Jenner appreciated her quote, “Chin up, boobs up and rock it!” A year later, Jenner similarly restated Tarpey’s phrase, in her interview with Diane Sawyer.

“I love that I inspired her,” Tarpey told TMZ.

Going forward, hopefully LGBT individuals and straight individuals within the Quinnipiac community can learn from and positively influence each other as Tarpey and Jenner did.

“Any person at the University who is struggling with an issue related to identity of any sort, can come to the counseling center for help sorting out areas of conflict or confusion” says Kenneth Wenning, Quinnipiac University Counseling.