Dear friends and supporters, Again, thank you so much for the outpouring of support. I'm in a much better place now emotionally, thanks in large part to your words and the support of friends and loved ones, as well as administrators at Cornell who have been helping me handle my displacement. However, Telluride Association, the organization that administers my cooperative, continues its pattern of inaction and refusal to admit wrongdoing in the situation, or to remove my violator from our House, even after I met with them twice last weekend. In the meantime, both my academic and personal life continue to be in enormous disarray. I once again came close to walking away for the sake of my emotional health over the weekend. But I also know what is just, and don't want to continue perpetuating a pattern where it is disadvantaged minorities who have to move out of university housing when we are violated. So I've decided that I am no longer content with letting administrators control my life, and have sought to find ways to take action in the situation for myself. According to Telluride Association, the transphobic comments that have been made to me in Telluride House do not violate its policies, and therefore warrants no sanction for the offender. So I spent last night knitting a hat with the words "YOU LOST YOUR DICK" on it, which is one of the comments my violator made to me, and will wear this hat in public areas of the House (see below). In its decision not to remove my violator, Telluride Association condones this type of comment, which has been made to me in situations where people have threatened my safety on the street. Now that the association cannot protect me from such damaging comments in my own home on campus, my only choice is to come to terms with my decision by attempting to handle the trauma as best I can. I must accept that I am at risk for receiving these comments at any time, even in campus housing provided by a supposedly democratic and intellectual institution on Cornell's campus, and that an organization like Telluride Association would find them acceptable. I will try to deal with this transphobic speech as best I can even when they damage my well-being, and the two ways I know how to do that are through therapeutic practices like knitting, and by blunting the effects of these words. Making knitted items with what has been said to me allows me to take some control of the situation, as Telluride Association is unwilling to offer me the simple help I need, of removing my violator until I am in a more psychologically stable state. I am also in the process of knitting a sweater with the words "A MAN DRESSED AS A WOMAN" and will also wear this in public spaces in the House. I will continue coming to terms with Telluride Association's decision by engaging in a public dialogue about acceptable speech towards transgender and other minority students in college campuses, and using my writing and art to engage in public advocacy around transgender issues. In the meantime, please continue to share this petition, in order for as many people as possible to become aware of how transgender students are being treated on college campuses. We need to hold institutions responsible for protecting the psychological and physical safety of its transgender members, and it's clear that this cannot happen without the support and vigilance of people like you. Gratefully, Meredith Talusan