On Wednesday Mar. 30^th, Student Who Are Not Silent (SWANS), had a town hall which talked about future events for SWANS, discussion of LGBTQIA+ issues on campus, and a key point of transgender awareness. Which included words from ECC President Dr. David Sam.

Sam showcased a short film titled Missed Connections. Missed Connections is a love story of strangers that met during a festival, that forgot to exchange contact information. One of the strangers is black, female and transgender. The short film showcased the challenges that came with being transgender.

The film taught about issues that transgender people face. It was more powerful knowing Sam’s involvement in the film. The film is directed by Michelle Sam, Dr. Sam’s daughter.

“I was very ecstatic that Dr. Sam has a direct connection to the transgender and the LGBTQIA+ community,” says James Allen, president of SWANS and the student member of ECC’s board of trustees.

Sam talked briefly after the video explaining his daughters work and talked about learning about these issues. Sam said that he wasn’t aware of the issues that LGBTQIA+ face. He talked about how his daughter educated him on such topic.

You can watch the short film Missed Connections here, link.

SWANS also discussed how they could get spread word of their club because they provides valuable information for the LGBTQIA+ community. Other than word of mouth there is no other way of knowing what SWANS is.

“One of things we do every week, or every other week is sent out a newsletter, but it’s not available to every student as student have to sign up for it,” said Allen. “But we try to do flyers, pamphlets and events like the town hall, and we want to invite everyone in the school to those things.”

SWANS makes every student feel welcome and safe. SWANS events are welcomed to all people. If you interested in joining the newsletter the link is here tinyurl.com/SWANSNL. It keeps up to date with events and topics of discussion involving the SWANS group.

The importance of events was also talked about, and SWANS is planning a drag show titled Am I The Drama? SWANS Drag Extravaganza on Fri. April 29th at 7:30 PM with the seating beginning at 6:30 PM.

“We are focusing on getting that drag show organized,” says Allen. “It’s very important to promote the drag show.”

The hope is that the Drag Show would be the first of a recurring yearly event. SWANS is hoping to make it a memorable event. Look out for flyers to purchase tickets as seating is limited.