Education

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK: Public University Holds Transgender Clothing Drive

Shutterstock/Marek Szandurski, YouTube screeenshot/MarshallU

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Taxpayer-funded Marshall University in West Virginia is holding a clothing drive for cross-dressing students who are looking to assemble marvelous wardrobes.

The Marshall University Trans Community Clothing Drive is currently underway. It began on Feb. 6 and will end on Feb. 24.

Bins for Marshall’s transgender clothing drive are located in the LGBTQ+ office, several campus residence halls and, of course, the women’s studies department.

A Facebook announcement heralding the public school’s transgender clothing drive declares that the cross-dressing community at Marshall “needs new or gently used clothing including: casual clothing, formal clothing, swimwear, chest binders, jewelry and transgender accessories.”

For the record, a gently-used chest binder is a previously-worn garment which severely compresses women’s breasts so that their chests are flattened and appear more like men’s chests.

As the Media Research Center observes, clothing drives are typically held to help poor people find quality clothing.

In this instance, all used clothing and accessories — and chest binders — collected through the Marshall University transgender clothing drive “will go toward the LGBTQ+ trans closet.”

Marshall junior Ashlee Vandruff explained the rationale behind the cross-dressing clothing drive.

“Many who are exploring their gender identity want to dress according to what they think is appropriate at the time,” Vandruff told The Parthenon, Marshall’s student newspaper.

“Going out to buy clothing can at the best of times be exhausting, and at the worst can lead to harassment,” the psychology major added. “Great ways to help is to work towards having a safe space where people are accepted despite their sexuality, gender, race and et cetera.”

Speaking of safe spaces, Marshall’s Office of Intercultural Affairs, which houses the LGBTQ+ office, “is a primary ‘Safe Zone’ environment.” “The Safe Space Program is a visibility and awareness program run out of LGBT office. Participants proudly display their Safe Space emblems on their office doors to let everyone know that they will not tolerate discrimination on our campus.”

Also, some website called eCollegeFinder has called Marshall “the most LGBTQ+ friendly college campus in West Virginia.”

The cost for a year of tuition and fees at Marshall for West Virginia residents is $6,154. The cost for out-of-state students is $16,382. These amounts do not include any room or board costs.

About 13,000 undergraduate and graduate students attend the Huntington, West Virginia public school.

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