After I read Chris Kozak’s column “Royal Nuisances,” I felt extremely disgusted and infuriated by his negative attitude towards trans people. Not only was the column written in complete ignorance of trans issues, but also the tone was extremely offensive and discriminating. I’m completely in favor of freedom of speech and opinion, but there’s no need for the level of disrespect Mr. Kozak took. I have to wonder what the main issue of the column is: the misappropriation of University funds or Mr. Kozak’s overt bullying of trans people? With statements like “I understand some of these people are having some type of identity crisis,” it is obvious Mr. Kozak has no awareness of trans issues and is clearly bullying this community.

Let’s get one thing straight, trans people do not have an identity crisis and are not confused in any way. I’m extremely sorry that Mr. Kozak is unable to comprehend the complexity of sex and gender, which he so simply tried to represent.

This column isn’t just offensive to trans people, but is also offensive to minority people in general. “Let’s hope the administration throws enough money at the real problems on this campus first – problems that affect everyone, not just a few really confused people” – since when are minority problems not real problems? This only further demonstrates the mentality people like Mr. Kozak have when it comes to non-mainstream issues. I for one will not compromise with this attitude, but instead advocate for the respect and understanding for members of this and every community; I encourage the rest of our university-wide community to take this positive attitude.

Victor Benitez

junior in LAS