The overlap between National Latinx/é Heritage Month and LGBTQIA+ History Month brought educators Susana Muñoz and Alé Portillos together to discuss intersectional identities, developing an inclusive space for the beauty of the transgender and Latinx/é communities.

The Pride Resource Center, RamEvents and El Centro came together to organize the fifth annual Borderlands panel discussion, deeply exploring gender, sexuality and immigration in intersecting identities.

Aaron Escobedo Garmon is the director of El Centro and has seen the value of this intentional partnership with RamEvents and the Pride Resource Center. He said the Borderlands panel is based on Gloria Anazaldúa’s book “Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza.”

Escobedo Garmon said he appreciates that from the very beginning, these panels intentionally uplift narratives of queer and Latinx/é students facing borders, celebrating their true senses of self. He said he believes this panel specifically highlights queer Latinx/é and transgender queer Latinx/é students, purposefully initiating these conversations at Colorado State University.

“At the intersection of trans and immigrant rights, we see resilience and the unique strength it takes to navigate multiple worlds. Our Borderlands discussion reminds us that embracing our beautiful multiple layers of identity is essential. Each story of struggle and survival shows why inclusive policies must see the whole person, not just parts.” –Susana Muñoz, CSU associate professor

“Our stories are not just stories of one experience — it’s multiple experiences,” Escobedo Garmon said. “All of us deserve to feel fully represented. All parts of us deserve to feel like we belong at this institution.”

Muñoz is an associate professor of higher education leadership at CSU. Much of her scholarly research focuses on the stories of marginalized communities such as undocumented or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program students in college. She said she feels her work has evolved in understanding what students’ experiences are like.

Portillos is a Ph.D. candidate from the University of Colorado Boulder whose research revolves around an intersectional analysis of Latinx/é experiences in relation to immigration, enforcement of migration and observing the conditions of ICE detention facilities. Esobedo Garmon said Portillos is not only an activist for trans people in various Colorado cities but also an advocate for trans people who are undocumented.

Two liaisons from RamEvents and the Pride Resource Center helped in guiding the conversation, asking questions to the speakers and allowing them to share their voices on certain topics.

The topics ranged from the experiences of Muñoz and Portillos in how they found reaffirming strength in interconnecting identities regarding cultural centers, the election season and navigating oppressive borders. Escobedo Garmon said he found this panel particularly important during a season of national and political discourse. Even at moments of division, various voices can engage with these topics.

Portillos discovered their passion for advocacy and establishing value in their voice when learning about their history from family and Chicano studies classes. In the face of opposing political and institutional rhetoric, Portillos’ professors and advisors empowered them to move into spaces to truly advocate for those marginalized communities.

“By being intentional in our intersectional analyses, we can understand how operations of power are working to divide us and oppress us and then also how we can work together to imagine a different way,” Portillos said.

Muñoz said she found comfort in the cultural center during her years as an undergraduate student. She emphasized how campuses hold the responsibility to serve the diverse identities of students, maintaining an inclusive campus climate.

“It is my home away from home,” Muñoz said. “It was a place where I could breathe. (Cultural centers) are very instrumental to our campus ecology because it allows folks to be represented and be seen and heard.”

Portillos reflected on their journey, their trans identity and the underlying worry of facing transphobia and homophobia in their daily life. With this frequent concern of spaces not properly receiving them, Portillos said they feel it is important to see changes in institutions to relieve those doubts from marginalized communities.

“It’s having people in those (institutions) that care and want to learn how to be culturally competent and serve students,” Portillos said.

Muñoz spoke on her experience of straddling two worlds and identities, never fully being enough in the eyes of either community. She said in an election season, she sees importance in establishing collective care and communal strength with the main goal of liberating one another.

“My hope is in my community, in the people I work with and for during these election times,” Muñoz said. “We still have to continue to fight.”

Escobedo Garmon said he hopes Borderlands will continue to reinvigorate conversation on CSU’s campus. Muñoz said she finds value in the Borderlands discussion to delve deeper into one’s sense of self, discovering each part that makes them truly whole.

“At the intersection of trans and immigrant rights, we see resilience and the unique strength it takes to navigate multiple worlds,” Muñoz said. “Our Borderlands discussion reminds us that embracing our beautiful multiple layers of identity is essential. … Each story of struggle and survival shows why inclusive policies must see the whole person, not just parts.”

Reach Sananda Chandy at life@collegian.com and on Twitter @CSUCollegian.