Transgender Awareness, a series of events meant to raise awareness of the transgender community on campus and educate students, began Tuesday with the rocking vocals of Lucas Silveira of The Cliks.

Silveira is a transgender man, meaning he transitioned into the male gender from the female gender. He spoke about his experiences and provided words of encouragement to those in the audience.

“I really enjoyed the event,” MU alumnus Kayden Prinster said. “I’ve been following Lucas for years. I was one of the people who supported the idea to ask him to come. It was interesting to hear about Silveira’s experiences.”

Lifang Wen and Daria Kalugina, who attended Silveira’s performance and speech, said it was educational.

“I got to learn about something I never thought about before,” Wen said. “It was nice to be able to hear Silveira’s first-hand experiences. It was very different from what I’m used to but really great.”

Triangle Coalition Legislative Liaison Taylor Dukes said the event was helpful for giving other students a better perspective on the transgender community and transgender issues.

“We wanted to kick off Transgender Awareness with a positive start,” Dukes said. “The event allowed members of the transgender community to see someone like themselves who is out and has achieved success in life. It was exciting to see so many people attend with such a positive reception.”

TriCo President Emily Colvin said Transgender Awareness Programming has been a tradition for four years but has been extended to two weeks this year. The programming includes events of awareness, celebration and remembrance.

Dukes said she is looking forward to InsideOUT, a discussion featuring a panel of trans-identified professionals, because coming out in the professional world is not often talked about.

“It will be a positive step forward,” Dukes said.

The discussion will take place at 5 p.m. Monday and will focus on what it is like to be a transgender person in the work place.

Afterward, Safe Space General Training, which is meant to train students to be effective allies of the LGBTQ community, will take place at 6:30 p.m.

TriCo spokesman Paul Reeves said he is looking forward most to Wednesday’s event, Transtravaganza, a celebration of gender expression, which will take place from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.

“Transtravaganza is all about how much fun it is to be yourself in a community that loves you for who you are,” LGTBQ Resource Center coordinator Struby Struble said.

Reeves said the event will be fun.

“I plan on rocking some crazy gender-queer outfits,” he said.

Question Persuade Refer will be held Thursday from 5 to 6 p.m. QPR, a nationally recognized suicide prevention training program, will teach participants how to recognize suicide warning signs and how to respond to save lives.

Prinster said he is looking forward to QPR because suicide prevention is an important issue to him.

Transgender Awareness will end at 7 p.m. Thursday with a vigil held in remembrance and honor of transgender individuals lost to violence and hate. Stories of those remembered will be read aloud, and attendees will be encouraged to share their own stories.

Previous events include a remembrance, where names of transgender individuals who died as victims of violence and hate were read aloud Thursday in Speaker’s Circle, and hourly showings of “Toilet Training,” a documentary on bathroom issues and safety for the transgender community, took place Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“Transgender Awareness is about increasing awareness and education of the transgender community on campus,” Reeves said. “We’re remembering transgender lives lost as well as recognizing and honoring the transgender identity.”

Colvin said the national Transgender Awareness week movement began after a car crash where paramedics refused to offer aid to a victim who was transgender. She also said she is proud to be able to educate the campus.

“It’s an intense part of the year for the transgender community but it is important,” she said. “We look at how we are going to be callous for change and how we can impact the world on a positive note.”