Herewini Easton issues his challenge The gay communities have this morning been challenged to set up scholarships to assist Auckland's transgender youth as they negotiate tertiary education. Speaking to the 120-strong crowd which gathered for the dawn ceremony kicking off Auckland's Pride Festival 2014, Unitec lecturer Herewini Easton said transgender and intersex people face many hurdles fitting into the education system. He gave as an example the reluctance of many to apply for scholarships which currently are designated for male and for female students. "They don't always feel comfortable applying within those definitions," he said. "They often feel embarrassed or shy." Easton challenged the Auckland glbti communities to create scholarships awarding a modest amount, "perhaps in the $500 to $1000 range" specifically to trans and intersex students "which would mean a lot in terms of academic and personal support while studying." "Those going through their transition need our help, they need our support," Easton told GayNZ.com Daily News, "and not just at Unitec but at the city's other tertiary institutions as well." He says a side-benefit of such scholarships would be "raising the profile of transgender achievement and providing something to aspire to." Responding after the dawn ceremony concluded, Pride chair David Coltman described Easton's plea as "a great challenge and definitely something to think on during this festival." Sounding an optimistic note he commented: "If we as a community can do this festival then surely we can do something like these scholarships." Unitec is a major sponsor of this years Pride Festival and is particularly involved in the youth elements of the festival in association with Rainbow Youth.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 6th February 2014 - 8:41am