Ann Arbor Times

Eastern Michigan University will observe Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31 by hosting the "Trans Day of Visibility Clothing Closet" event. The initiative is a collaboration between EMU’s Career Closet, the LGBT Resource Center, and Swoop’s Food Pantry. It aims to provide transgender and gender non-conforming students with access to professional attire.

The event will take place at the Student Center located at 900 Oakwood St., from noon to 5 p.m. It is free and open to all students.

Melbourne Buskirk, an EMU senior who initiated the event, emphasized its importance for the transgender community. “As a member of the transgender community, I find it's extremely important to provide resources and community to other transgender people,” Buskirk stated. “We hope to have a little bit of everything for the students to choose from.”

EMU’s Career Closet offers free professional clothing and accessories for students and alumni. By holding this event at the Career Closet, Buskirk aims to make it easier for students who might feel uneasy about selecting clothes that match their gender identity.

Buskirk also expressed a broader goal: “I hope to show the whole community on campus that we do have transgender and gender diverse students here, and they deserve to be here as much as anyone else.”

For more information about EMU's LGBT Resource Center, interested individuals are encouraged to visit their website.

Eastern Michigan University was founded in 1849 and serves nearly 13,000 students across various degree programs. The university is recognized nationally for its commitment to diversity and applied education.