{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/vd6nz82b84/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Riley Owens Oral History"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eClip 1\u003c/strong\u003e: Riley Owens provides advice to new Queens College students who identify as queer and are trying to find themselves.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of Full Interview\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eRiley Owens (she/her. they/them) is a graphic designer and visual artist who attended Queens College from 2010 to 2023. While a student, she participated regularly in the Gender, Love, and Sexuality Alliance (GLASA, previously PRISM). As they became more involved on-campus, Riley began designing graphics for GLASA and other CUNY events, eventually getting hired as a designer for the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives at LaGuardia Community College. During their years in the City University of New York (CUNY) system, Riley worked to bring greater visibility for LGBTQ students and their allies, always with attention to eye-capturing visuals and sharp, stylish messaging.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn this interview conducted shortly before Riley's final semester as a student at Queens College, she touches on a range of experiences, from writing in the GLASA club journals (now collected at the Special Collections and Archives at Queens College) to finding her place on campus to discovering more about intersectional organizing and transgenderism. Riley recalls their early experience wearing a dress as part of the on-campus drag show and the impact of finding a community in Queens on their discovery of their own gender identity. They touch on the cultural shift in conversation away from binaries, and the evolution of nonbinary and gender-nonconforming visibility in school and other spaces in the city. While discussing intersectional experience, Riley describes her experience building coalitions, and the strategies she employed to build relationships between cultural student groups as a student. Speaking from her experience as a graphic designer, Riley also discusses the impact of strong visuals on building a successful movement or community, and how she became a designer for CUNY.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eTo learn more about the GLASA club journals, visit \u003ca href=\"https://qcarchives.libraryhost.com/resources/gender_love_and_sexuality_alliance_glasa_collectio\"\u003ehttps://qcarchives.libraryhost.com/resources/gender_love_and_sexuality_alliance_glasa_collectio\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e (supplement)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source Metadata URI"]},"value":{"en":["http://digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org/search/browse/42930"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2023-08-18 (created)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Tags"]},"value":{"en":["Queens College Alumni"]}},{"label":{"en":["Type"]},"value":{"en":["Audio"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Riley Owens (Interviewee)","Dani Stompor (Interviewer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source"]},"value":{"en":["Interview conducted as part of the Queer at QC Oral History Project, a collaboration between the Queens College Special Collections \u0026amp; Archives and the Queens Memory Project."]}},{"label":{"en":["Coverage"]},"value":{"en":["2010s-2023 (temporal)","Queens College, Queens, NY (spatial)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eClip 1\u003c/strong\u003e: Riley Owens provides advice to new Queens College students who identify as queer and are trying to find themselves.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of Full Interview\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eRiley Owens (she/her. they/them) is a graphic designer and visual artist who attended Queens College from 2010 to 2023. While a student, she participated regularly in the Gender, Love, and Sexuality Alliance (GLASA, previously PRISM). As they became more involved on-campus, Riley began designing graphics for GLASA and other CUNY events, eventually getting hired as a designer for the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives at LaGuardia Community College. During their years in the City University of New York (CUNY) system, Riley worked to bring greater visibility for LGBTQ students and their allies, always with attention to eye-capturing visuals and sharp, stylish messaging.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn this interview conducted shortly before Riley's final semester as a student at Queens College, she touches on a range of experiences, from writing in the GLASA club journals (now collected at the Special Collections and Archives at Queens College) to finding her place on campus to discovering more about intersectional organizing and transgenderism. Riley recalls their early experience wearing a dress as part of the on-campus drag show and the impact of finding a community in Queens on their discovery of their own gender identity. They touch on the cultural shift in conversation away from binaries, and the evolution of nonbinary and gender-nonconforming visibility in school and other spaces in the city. While discussing intersectional experience, Riley describes her experience building coalitions, and the strategies she employed to build relationships between cultural student groups as a student. Speaking from her experience as a graphic designer, Riley also discusses the impact of strong visuals on building a successful movement or community, and how she became a designer for CUNY.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eTo learn more about the GLASA club journals, visit \u003ca href=\"https://qcarchives.libraryhost.com/resources/gender_love_and_sexuality_alliance_glasa_collectio\"\u003ehttps://qcarchives.libraryhost.com/resources/gender_love_and_sexuality_alliance_glasa_collectio\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"]},"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},"provider":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/248/841/small/owens_riley_20230818_portrait_resized.jpg?1724255509","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/248841","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 2 - owens_riley_20230818_clip1.mp3"]},"duration":240.71837,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/248/841/small/owens_riley_20230818_portrait_resized.jpg?1724255509","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/248841/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/248841/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-queenslibrary.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/248/841/original/owens_riley_20230818_clip1.mp3?1724255462","type":"Audio","format":"audio/mpeg","duration":240.71837,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/248841","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[]},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 2 of 2 - owens-riley-2023-08-18-full.mp3"]},"duration":5510.08653,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/230/580/small/IMG_8794%281%29_aviary.jpg?1709139466","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/content/2/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-queenslibrary.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/230/580/original/owens-riley-2023-08-18-full.mp3?1709139414","type":"Audio","format":"audio/mpeg","duration":5510.08653,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Full Transcript [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Okay, we are now rolling in both locations, so let's go ahead and start. This is Dani Stompor, who is interviewing Riley Owens. So I'm going to first start by asking you to say your name, if you'd like to share your pronouns, your title, the day and time, and where we are.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=1.0,32.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: Awesome. Hi everyone. My name is Riley Owens. My pronouns are she/her or they/them. My title is Graphic Designer at the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives at LaGuardia Community College, as well as currently a student at Queens College. The date is—","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=32.0,58.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: The 18th—","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=58.0,63.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: And the time is— I don't have my watch with me.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=63.0,68.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: It's August 18th at 9:50 AM.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=68.0,71.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=71.0,73.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: We're recording—","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=73.0,74.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: We're recording in the Queens College Fourth Floor audio booth—","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=74.0,82.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: —in the library.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=82.0,84.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: In the Queens College Rosenthal Library.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=84.0,88.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Awesome. Cool. Thank you, Riley.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=88.0,91.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: I don't have a watch with me. I'm sorry.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=91.0,93.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: That's so fine. I'm going to go ahead and have us start off by looking at one of the journals in the Queens College Special Collections and Archives. This is the journal, it's in the GLASA [Gender, Love, and Sexuality Alliance, a student group at Queens College] collection, but at the time the group was called PRISM, 2016 to 17. And I understand that you wrote this particular entry. Could you tell me what it is and how it came about?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=93.0,124.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: Okay, so this entry was a sign for LGBTQ+ people. It's basically a chart of street signs since I think this is the year I've gotten my license, which would make sense. And so it's divided into four quadrants. The top left has a basic stop sign and underneath I've annotated it as \"Asexual/Ace and Aromantic.\" A fellow student says, \"love this.\" And moving right along to the second quadrant, top right, there's a yield sign detailing \"Demi/gray- sexual.\" At that time and still today I'm a bit confused between which words are used for which situation, but I do I guess feel the vibe of being demi- as well as demi-romantic. Down below on the third quadrant, bottom left, there is a roundabout sign, a bunch of arrows going around in a circle, and I've also called it a rotary just because up in New England, that's what they call roundabouts.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=124.0,226.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: The descriptors are \"Verse, Top, or Bottom, Polyandrous\"—or polyamorous— because I was using anthropology descriptions of polygynandry and stuff like that. But now I know it to be polyamorous just for everyone because gynandry and [the suffixes] -gamous and -androus are sex terms. The next one and the final one that I've created is on the bottom right, \"u-turn allowed.\" There's an arrow going straight ahead, but there's one turning back on itself. \"Verse and/or Bi?,\" I put the \"Bi\" in question marks just because I didn't want to, I guess, offend anyone because I wanted to be cognizant. So that's what I've done.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=226.0,290.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: And so this came about I believe because I was getting my driver's license at the time and I was just chuckling as I was just driving in Fresh Meadows with my instructor. And so it's literally just, maybe, merging two seemingly unrelated concepts, which I like to do in my free time, and just chuckled about it. And so I wrote/drew that diagram in the journal and a few of the comments were another pictogram, an exit sign with an arrow pointing to the top right of the page and that person wrote \"Top.\" So I guess good for them.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=290.0,346.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Thank you. Awesome. So let's back up a little bit. So this journal that you wrote in, this was during the 2016-17 school year, but I'd love if we could back up a little bit in time. If you could tell us more about how you arrived at CUNY in the first place and your experience there.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=346.0,373.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: So much like lot of things in my life, arriving to CUNY wasn't straightforward, pun intended. So originally I set my sights on Syracuse back in high school because Syracuse I know had a great Graphic Design program, but that was too expensive. So then I chose a SUNY primarily for looking for something with a little bit more name recognition. And I thought CUNY was honestly low tier because their quality of their advertisements really didn't punch as hard as I thought it could've.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=373.0,422.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Do you mean from a graphic design perspective?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=422.0,424.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: From a graphic design perspective. And another reason I wanted to choose Syracuse University or a state university would be because I would get further away from home and have more freedom to explore myself. And then I chose Queens College and CUNY as a whole just because they were the first ones to accept me on my application and on student orientation, I actually started to feel the vibes that this was a very welcoming, nurturing place with a lot of different tools for students to grow in any facet of where they want to explore. From the awesome stacks at the library to the multitude of courses offered and the various science labs, truly the sky seemed like the limit. Having taken college design classes at Queensborough [Community College] with a professor at Queensborough while I was still at high school, I thought CUNY, did feel like a very nurturing place to start my academic journey.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=424.0,513.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Awesome. Could you take us into that? You sort of mentioned the experience of starting to get access to some of the resources at Queens College. Can you talk to us about that sort of coming onto campus your first year, getting aware of the various different clubs on campus? Did you attend the Club Day and what sort of sparked you to join the groups that you did?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=513.0,550.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/22","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: So about a week or two after the first day of classes, I believe, there was an event called Club Day where most, if not all, student-led clubs or micro-organizations within the campus formed a U-shape around the quad. And so I decided to check them out and just saw what spoke to me. I immediately looked for an LGBTQ club and that is where I found GLASA. I also looked at a couple of other clubs, but since I said was a free hour event, I mostly hovered around GLASA and just asked them when they met and if there was any regular meeting. And so I found myself at GLASA.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=550.0,625.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/23","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Nice. Was there, at that point, did you feel in your own journey that a space with other LGBTQ people was something that you were looking for? Was it something that you'd experienced up to that point?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=625.0,651.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/24","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: At that point I thought I was just a gay male. \"Trans\" hasn't entered the mainstream terminology yet, and I was just exploring, I guess, then as someone who thought of themselves as a gay male. I just felt really ostracized in Queens and even places in Manhattan felt more for the experienced members of the community. So I was looking [as] someone who was very young, but also motivated to make a difference in how we see ourselves and how we're seen by outsiders, namely the people who are straight or heterosexual or cisgender. So I just wanted to join because I was honestly longing for community, looking for young people like myself that wouldn't make my voice be the quietest one in the room. I didn't want to be the loudest voice either, but I just wanted to have my voice be one of many and amplify other people's voices too.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=651.0,738.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/25","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Awesome. So then you get involved with GLASA and you start to meet these people. What was the sort of routine, how often were you meeting with people from GLASA? Where would you meet?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=738.0,759.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/26","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: At this time GLASA met in LL-7 in the lower level of the Student Union. I would typically drop in on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I didn't know it at the time, but the section of time from twelve-fifteen to one-thirty was called free hour, and that's where we just hung out in the club room. And then after a while I noticed that some people would go \"upstairs.\" I didn't know what that meant, but what they were referring to was room 403. Room 403 would be where we would have our more serious, more structured meetings.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=759.0,813.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/27","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Cool. Very cool. So at the time you mentioned it was called GLASA, but it didn't mean the same thing though, it didn't stand for the same thing that it does in 2023 though, right? Could you talk us through how the name sort of changed?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=813.0,834.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/28","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: So initially GLASA stood for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Alliance, and then around the tail end of 2013, the beginning of 2014, it morphed into PRISM because I guess Pink Floyd released an album and everyone was like, \"yeah, light goes through a prism and turns into a myriad of colors. This is an apt name for our club.\" And then a few years later in, I believe 2017-2018, we morphed back to GLASA, this time, meaning the Gender, Love and Sexuality Alliance so that it could be something for all people and all people would feel welcomed.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=834.0,890.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/29","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Awesome. Very cool. Can you talk through maybe some highlights of your time in GLASA, some specific memories, your people? [laughter]","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=890.0,904.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/30","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: My people. [laughter] So the first few memories of me joining GLASA apart from the first few e-board moments— well, first few meeting moments and talking to the e-board— and realizing it stood for \"elected board\" as opposed to electronic as in e-mail. So, it was fun. I talked a lot with Samuel Nathanson, then [GLASA] president, Geni Sula, who would later become president, but at that time I just knew him as a friendly person who was a very reassuring straight ally and would do anything for our community.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=904.0,961.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/31","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: And the first few memories I've had in GLASA were very formative. We had an event that was hosted by JC Carlson, pronouns they/them, about our intersecting identities in a free hour setting. I believe this was in the [Student Union] ballroom. We watched clips from a movie and JC spoke a little bit about intersectionality. I didn't know the term at the time and I don't believe JC used it then. I'm only using intersectionality now that I've matured a little bit academically. But JC then pointed at various members of our group that attended the event and asked them about themselves: \"Hey you, you are?\" \"Lesbian!\" \"And?\" \"Jewish!\" And then they went through the crowd and gradually came to me, \"You are?\" \"G-g-gay.\" \"And?\" \"B-b-brown.\" \"Good.\" So that helped us unpack layers of identity so that we realized that we are more than one-dimensional beings. We are in total the sum of all of our experiences, but we ourselves have to remember that there is more to us than what immediately comes to mind.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=961.0,1081.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/32","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: That's awesome. Do you have other memories that you wanted to talk about or things that stuck out?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=1081.0,1091.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/33","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: A very formative event was the first GLASA Drag Show. This I believe was held in October, mid- or late-October. I was ecstatic that I would be able to explore. I'd previously never had this luxury, though I've always had this itch of wanting to, I guess, dress in femme and be referred to as such, but it didn't really click all that well. So JC Carlson donates a bunch of their clothes to the drag show. I put on this really hideous outfit of a dress—a really elegant dress—but since I didn't shave, I put on a really baggy pair of jeans. Not my proudest fashion. So I walk the runway, I don't care what people think. It doesn't occur to me that I do actually look really horrible. I am very self-aware. But what [it] makes me feel like inside, that I'm actually wearing a dress for this first time? Forget the baggy pair of jeans underneath like, a elegant flowy dress. To me that meant the world. And so that really, I guess sparked the idea of trans as before jumping the gun to calling myself trans and adopting pronouns she/her. But that really greased the gears in my brain. And so the first GLASA Drag Show, though I looked hideous, no one booed. And it was mostly self-critique of this outfit, but at least the gears started turning and that laid down the tracks for me to slowly but surely now come out as trans in my following school year.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=1091.0,1250.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/34","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: That outfit personally sounds fantastic. I love it. That's awesome. What a special sort of experience to get to have.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=1250.0,1262.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/35","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: Sorry.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=1262.0,1264.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/36","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: That sounds like such a special show, a special night.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=1264.0,1270.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/37","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=1270.0,1270.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/38","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: I'm curious, I want to back up a little bit before we dig further into that. I've heard GLASA and its various different predecessor organizations on campus for LGBTQ people, or LGBTQ affinity groups, some of them have been described more as social clubs where people who would just hang out and talk to each other. Other times people have described them as protest groups that were actively sort of \"speaking truth to power\" let's say. What was your experience of GLASA? What sort of group it was?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=1270.0,1321.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/39","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: My experience of GLASA was that it started off as a very, at least to me, then-powerful group. I've also heard that they've done more powerful things in the past. But to me, having events like Coming Out Day where we would actually duct tape our mouths shut— sorry, Day of Silence, not Coming Out Day, Day of Silence, where we'd actually duct tape our mouths shut for free hour, not the whole school day because we still had to participate in class, but for free hour. And only speak once the event was over. So events like those were really powerful. Like, silence, visible silence says a whole lot.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=1321.0,1376.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/40","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: And so I thought it was a really well put-together club. Granted, former veterans say that it became more of a social club and they didn't want to be as much a part of it as they once were, but to me, having regularly structured meetings—granted a lot of hanging out when those meetings in 403 didn't happen—but a lot of structured meetings and a lot of powerful discussions happening within those. It really felt like a community. And though cliques exist in every community, the attempts to come together as a whole really spoke to me. And then gradually I started to feel like what the veterans were saying, \"veterans\" in quotes were saying that it was becoming more and more a social club, and then eventually we phased out of all those structured meetings altogether. I was really dismayed and eventually it just became a social and game club. And this is when I first started to frequent my mentor JC Carlson more and more. And though I would visit GLASA every now and again to check on my home group, I felt like it was more of a gay game club rather than an actual organization having the hard discussions and really trying to find what makes our heart tick every single day, our heart beat every single day.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=1376.0,1509.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/41","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Do you feel like that shift of the group—It sounded like when you first joined GLASA, that there was a lot of transparency with the e-board and the conversations that you were having sounded more deep and courageous as a group—Do you feel that that sort of transparency shifted as well? It sounds like you were saying—","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=1509.0,1548.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/42","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: Yeah, transparency definitely shifted. At the end of 2015, there was a gradual transition from transparent to opaque, but after 2015, to use a graphic design metaphor, it just went from 50% opaque to 80%. It was very, the e-board felt more standoffish about future events. Granted, coming events were always advertised, but future events were more hushed about and I didn't understand why, as the conversation started to become more stale. So I didn't understand this need for decreased transparency.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=1548.0,1612.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/43","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Gotcha. Makes sense. I'd like us to shift in time a little bit again. So you do the drag show, you wear this dress with the baggy jeans. I love this visual. It sounds like a great outfit. And from that experience, you start to explore your relationship to gender and presentation a bit more. What was the sort of response to that from GLASA members? Did you feel supported in that?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=1612.0,1658.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/44","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: So that was just a drag show and after the drag show, like immediately after, I remember JC Carlson giving me one of the dresses used at the drag show. It had blue collar lines and coral accents and a bunch of other stuff going on that would take too long to mention.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=1658.0,1691.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/45","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Sounds like a great dress.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=1691.0,1695.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/46","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: Let's just say a navy, coral, and beige dress. So that's what I'd wear at home because I didn't have much courage to come out out yet. So I'd wear that at home. Not that it was required or anything, it's just something that JC decided to give me. I wore it at home for two, three weeks every single night in my own room, not in front of my parents. And just, I guess, do homework in it, read a book for self reading, and start to feel more and more comfortable with the idea that, okay, one day I could eventually go to the public sphere, AKA outside my house, with either a dress or something a little bit more femme. So to answer your question more directly, I started wearing leggings, the $11 leggings at the Queens College Bookstore once we had a physical bookstore—","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=1695.0,1770.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/47","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=1770.0,1773.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/48","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: So one of my favorite ones was just black, coral (god, a lot of coral!), and green floral leggings. Those were my favorite. Once I learned how to effectively present myself with those, I just wore them as often as I wore blue or black or khaki jeans. I just gradually included that into my wardrobe and then slowly but surely found some tunics that I liked and then included those with the outfit. And the gradual, the eventual reception by GLASA was \"eh, let them do what they want.\" Well, at that time \"they\" hadn't been— the singular pronoun as we know it today. \"Let 'him' do what 'he' wants\" because I still didn't come out as trans yet. And the nature of conversation was very binary. It was either yes or no, male or female, twink or bear. So I believe that there was a lot of acceptance, but blanket acceptance can sometimes feel alienating once there is no more discussion to get deeper into what these very visible changes represented within.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=1773.0,1884.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/49","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: And as you were moving through classes as well, how was the experience of starting to lean into a presentation that felt more you? How did that feel going to classes and things?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=1884.0,1905.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/50","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: I was afraid, honestly. My first full year \"out\" out but still not knowing trans or she, changing my pronouns fully— I believe this is either 2013 or 2014, I felt afraid just because trans people were not talked about. Or if they were prior to the current version of the DSM [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders], I forget what it means, but it's a thing that's used a lot in psychology to diagnose certain types of mental illnesses. Psychology being one of the first classes I'd taken coming here, but I've since forgot what DSM actually stands for. But trans people were, being transgender or transvestism was considered a mental disorder. So I was afraid. But with professors like Professor [Thomas] Ort of History, history of modern Europe from 1789 to current, and Professor [Sofia] Fasos of Media Studies who I've recently retaken in a more advanced media studies class, those two professors accepted me and actually let me speak during class. Not of my experience, which is to be expected, but actually deliver speeches that we'd written for history or read the essay aloud kind of thing for media studies. Because I guess because even though I look different, they still cherish my brain and I guess heart within to go through this and still feel as if I'm a student and my contributions were worthy.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=1905.0,2055.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/51","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: That's awesome. Do you feel— so, since starting at Queens College, I think it's fair to say that the sort of national dialogue has shifted somewhat on LGBT people in that there are more trans people in the media. There's a greater sort of awareness of things like using the singular they pronoun. How has that sort of been to watch that shift happening while at Queens?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=2055.0,2102.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/52","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: It honestly felt as if a whole wider world started to present itself. That I wouldn't be afraid to, I would still be afraid of dressing femme at home, granted, but I would not be afraid to, let's say, while having changed [clothes] at Queens College, go to let's say a cafe or what have you. And that very public dialogue and especially blossomed during the original airing of Orange is the New Black starring LaVerne Cox. So I felt very fortunate that my gender awakening more or less coincided with the broader United States media literacy on LGBTQ+ issues.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=2102.0,2170.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/53","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Do you feel like now that there's all this information out, that there's more online that people can see, do you feel like there's more nuance that comes with that information or less?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=2170.0,2189.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/54","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: I feel like we've sort of plateaued and I would say in some regards that I believe is a very great thing. Back in 2015, 2016, people would ask what their PGPs were. I thought this was great. You're asking me what my, at that time, it stood for \"preferred gender pronoun.\" What are my preferred gender pronouns? I would answer she/her, like jumping after I came out as she/her, came out as trans. This I believe was in the spring semester of 2014, but jumping back: preferred gender pronouns, that's great. I could prefer which ones.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=2189.0,2237.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/55","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: But then I'd done a safe space training at Queens College with most of GLASA invited, actually all of GLASA invited, most showed up. And I decided to change the narrative slightly just because preferred started to feel weak. \"Oh, they prefer it, she prefers it.\" So I changed the narrative slightly to \"personal gender pronouns\" to make sure that people's pronouns would be respected not only for myself but for others along the way. And along with that, I've noticed that people started to talk more openly. Like as I've mentioned, Orange is the New Black is airing in the background of all this, that's the media landscape. So people are more or less going along with it and trying to make trans people feel more comfortable. Not necessarily that we have to have blanket acceptances [like what was] happening before, but actually start to engage in dialogue with us, actually humanizing us. Whereas it felt before that, yeah, we are just like that lamp fixture in the background. We exist.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=2237.0,2328.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/56","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: And so now, as opposed to asking for preferred gender pronoun or even personal gender pronoun, as I've tried so hard to shift that narrative, now it's just, hey, what are your pronouns? And it's just like, leave it at that. So we've had a growing of nuance and understanding, especially I feel as if bi- and pan- erasure is slowly dwindling in the LGBTQ sphere. But in the broader public sphere, I am starting to scratch my head yet again at people like Ron DeSantis, Florida Governor, presidential candidate at the time of recording. And the \"Don't Say Gay\" bills are atrocious, and I hope we do not go back to times before we had this blossoming of discourse.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=2328.0,2409.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/57","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: With that blossoming, what would you say are the sort of qualities that make you feel welcomed by somebody? What is it that somebody does or how they carry themselves in interacting with you that makes you feel welcomed?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=2409.0,2431.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/58","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: That's an interesting question because I do acknowledge that we are obviously all different people and our methods of communication may not be the same from person A to person B, et cetera. But acknowledging with a little bit of eye contact that yes, you are indeed a human. And that conversation is more than just small talk. Small talk is really cheap. \"Hi, how are you, did you check out this new pumpkin spice latte?,\" what have you. That kind of thing gets old real fast. But diving deeper once we understand a bit about each other. So that I think is very welcoming. We don't have to agree, but at least acknowledging our presence as human beings and diving into the neutral ground of matters and to possibly understand the other side, we don't have to agree. There are some things that we have to be necessarily intolerant of. We have to be necessarily intolerant of intolerance. But engaging in more deeper discourse than just the \"hi, how are yous\" I think is very important to me.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=2431.0,2527.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/59","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Yeah, awesome. I'm going to bring us back in time once more to— you first come to campus, GLASA is one of the groups that you arrive at that you find very quickly. Were there other student groups that you attended, got involved with or were interested in?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=2527.0,2562.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/60","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: Mmm-hmm [affirmative]. The Free Hour Club Day not so much, but after JC's first event, the intersectional event, they ended with \"go find a club that's neither or none of your descriptors that you've just described and visit them.\" So I visited the Chinese Student Association just because I went to high school in a predominantly east and southeast Asian community. I felt like I could have a bit of rapport with them. The next club I joined was right next door. It was the Sikh Club. Being a person of Bengali—Bangladesh is a small country next to India, in the continent of Asia. I felt like I could have some affinity there and strengthen the dialogue between GLASA and Southeast Asian communities. And Sci-fi/Anime [club] because I'm a huge nerd and just want to see what the vibe was like, I guess. And last but not least, they played amazing music: ALAS, the Association for Latin American Students, and they had amazing food— empanadas. This was probably the first time I've tried an empanada. And I just danced with other students because I love and have always loved being able to show myself in terms of movement. And it was just nice trying to have a little network in that corner of the SU [Student Union], well, not really corner since Sci-Fi was all the way in the back, but in that general vicinity of the SU I felt a sense of acceptance, of welcome, I felt very welcomed and I just wanted to like, okay, my home base is GLASA, but let's strengthen inter-club dialogue.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=2562.0,2723.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/61","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Do you feel that you were able to show up on campus or felt welcome showing up on campus in multiple identities at once. Since again, the dialogue on intersectionality as you mentioned before, is something that has I think grown over time a little bit, but yeah, I would love to hear—","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=2723.0,2752.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/62","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: I didn't feel necessarily, as I was wearing all those identities at once, I felt like as if my identities as a Brown person, as a person who was Queer / Questioning, and a little bit after, they didn't feel like a convergence of identity. They'd rather feel, and I hate to say this, but a hand of cards that I would deal when necessarily so that I could have a conversation and then bring the other cards in to talk about the full, I guess me, experiences that was something they were into. For example, in the Sikh Club, I would say, \"Hi, I am from Bangladesh. I know I'm not Sikh, I'm Hindu, but I want to thank you for all you're doing giving Langar\"— which is a ritual meal given, and everyone's welcome, whether you're Sikh or not, you're entitled or not entitled, but you'll be given a free meal and discourse would follow after on peace, interfaith communications, et cetera.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=2752.0,2850.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/63","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: So I wanted to thank them for doing that, knowing that that is a facet of Sikh history that they brought from the home country here. So I'd use the Brown card and then if they were like, oh yeah, what other clubs do you go to? I would mention GLASA, and sometimes folks would follow me back after the conversation, obviously I wouldn't leave just then. We'd talk a little bit more and then I would invite folks over to GLASA and then start to branch out and bring [them] back home, if you will. This convergence of identity idea [had] only started to become more of a thing. When I did take this feminist philosophy course, in which I studied Kimberly Crenshaw towards the end of the semester, and then actually learned the true meaning of intersectionality as a convergence rather than a deck of cards. So it's been a learning process for me to learn to carry all my identities all at once and just be my fullest self at the moment.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=2850.0,2942.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/64","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Do you feel like, it sounds just from what you've said that then all of the pressure gets placed on you to have to hold all of those identities at once. What is the experience that you would like to see at Queens College for future students to be able to, who are in maybe similar positions, to be able to feel more accepted? What do you think you would like to see change?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=2942.0,2984.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/65","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: I think with negative pressure being put upon this nation, namely the election of Donald Trump, people have been going to more inclusive meetings, more marches and stuff like that. With that, they found people of other backgrounds that they can vibe with. And that dialogue, that solidarity in discourse has brought itself back home to Queens College as we're slowly acknowledging other different types of people exist, and within those groups, they're not a monolith that there is— pun intended— a prism of identity to be had within those communities too. So our fellow marchers could eventually become some of our best friends. And so I believe that Queens College actually with the emergence of certain negative pressures brought on by former President Donald Trump has actually really shored up its commitment to honoring— welcoming, including, and honoring— everyone that walks through its gates.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=2984.0,3098.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/66","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Awesome, very cool. I'd like to dig into more of your relationship with JC as that somebody who you've mentioned a couple times as being a big mentor in your life. Can you talk about how that relationship started to grow? So, you met at that event shortly after coming to campus. What then happened? How did you get to know JC more?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=3098.0,3134.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/67","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: So I didn't know JC as JC during that intersectional event. I believe I came in a little late after they'd started to introduce themselves, but definitely at the drag show and after the drag show when they gave me this navy and coral dress. I started to talk with them and they're like, \"yeah, come by any time. My office\"— at that time— was Student Union 100. And so I'd visit weekly and just say, \"hi, how's it going?\" And then talk about stuff and talk about what I'm feeling internally in terms of gender, in terms of who I'm dating at the time and stuff like that. That then grew into a more trusting relationship where I could delve away from the small talk, which was starting to happen more and more in GLASA and more into the serious topics of life and who I wanted to be. One of the first things I remember giving JC as a friend was a piece of very rough script, but it was still a pun. It said, Be- You- TIFUL so we could be LOVER-LY. JC thought that it was funny. So they put that on the back of their door in SU 100.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=3134.0,3257.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/68","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: One of the first axioms among many JC has instilled in me was [that] once you know, you can never go back to not knowing. And trying not to be willfully ignorant of your own path, but also how your path impacts others and the various things in the world— try to make this world a better place. But the way they say or have said things like this really stick with me. And for the more personal stuff, once we actually have that rapport where they're more or less officially my mentor, it's either first class or no class. And to this day I carry that with me and try to do my best wherever I go.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=3257.0,3313.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/69","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Awesome. So as you mentioned before, you're a graphic designer, you've designed many graphics for JC, for GLASA. Where did that creative interest in graphic design come from?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=3313.0,3335.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/70","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: My interest in graphic design just started with me being very young and playing around on MS Paint and just seeing what I could do to create something that hasn't been created before. That was, in retrospect, it's really dumb, but at the same time it kind of echoes, I don't want to say my teaching style, but how I come to help other people nurture whatever talents that they may have that I could vibe with. Whether it be cooking for oneself or even teaching another person graphic design, from the get-go, I'm like, the first few weeks are going to be play. And so that way you understand what the function of each of the things you are going to use are for. I am going to be here in case you put too much salt in your food and tell you, okay, you could get bread and sop it up, or here's the undo button. Very rudimentary, stuff like that, but I wouldn't get in the way. So I learned first by play and so forth. I teach first by play. And then as time went on, I decided to create spoof newspapers for elementary school reports. And they were like, \"Oh, this is the funniest thing ever. It actually matches the word count we need and great job spoofing The New York Times layout,\" et cetera.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=3335.0,3464.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/71","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: And then later on when making greeting cards for my parents, these greeting cards were seen by a bunch of folks and they were like, \"Oh, who created this?\" And they were like, \"'He' did,\" referring to me at that time. And so it just started by play, honestly. And then in high school I decided this is something I could do for a career choice. And so I looked at the various different paths our high school, Newtown High School, have given us. There was this mathematics and sciences house. I was like, \"I'm nerdy, but math isn't my strong suit.\" We still had to take math, but only the required ones. History and cultures, that was really interesting. But business felt like it had the most potential moving forward. Businesses were, as mentioned— or not— I took classes taught by a Queensborough professor at my high school and sometimes visited Queensborough, dedicated to graphic design and all the not-too-common features of Microsoft Office. And I've been both Adobe and Microsoft certified as a technology specialist, whatever that means. So yeah, it just came from a lot of play initially and gradually honing my craft more and more with each passing year.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=3464.0,3593.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/72","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: While you've been attending Queens College and been in GLASA, how do you feel like your involvement in those groups has informed your development as a graphic designer?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=3593.0,3613.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/73","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: So I've always, well, ever since finishing the business program at the high school and becoming a Queens college student and having those conversations that I had with JC, as well as informed by just my understanding of the general vibe going around, I felt always the need to further the narrative of our community and of what we could do as a whole. So that's where I learned to be— GLASA is where I learned to be— very experimental when I could be, but always keep the key details crystal queer, pun intended. Crystal clear, but queer. Date, time, location, date, time, location. As long as you have those three things front and center, you're going to be good in terms of designing event flyers, and the other half you could experiment with. And so what informed my decisions as a GLASA designer was basically just at that time, anyone who wanted to design a flyer for an event could. They would submit that design to the e-board, e-board would choose the top three, and then it would be up to the president— this is how I remembered for Geni's years, other years had a little bit of a shift there.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=3613.0,3728.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/74","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: And then Geni from those top three would choose the best one. I would always end up in the top two and I would watch, though I couldn't say anything as I was behind a glass door, I would always watch which ones Geni would go for, those being the very, very crystal clear ones of knowing when's the event going to be held, where it's going to be held, and what they need to do in order to get to the event. So I gradually started honing my style, much like training an AI model these days, and slowly but surely more often than not, my design started be chosen more and more. And by the next year I became the unofficial GLASA graphic designer in a hurry. And for most events, my design was just chosen by default. And so that's how I became GLASA unofficial graphic designer.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=3728.0,3814.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/75","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Cool. From there, so you're designing these materials for GLASA, regularly seeing your work around campus. How did you then start designing other materials for JC?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=3814.0,3837.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/76","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: So designing stuff for JC started [for] the first ever CUNY PrideFest at Queens College. Two folks came to me and flanked my shoulders, Amir to my left and Jordan to my right.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=3837.0,3860.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/77","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: What year was this?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=3860.0,3861.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/78","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: This was, I believe, 2018.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=3861.0,3865.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/79","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Okay, cool.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=3865.0,3867.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/80","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: So I was flanked by Amir to my left and Jordan to my right. And Amir whispered into my ear, \"JC wants to talk to you.\"","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=3867.0,3883.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/81","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: [laughs]","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=3883.0,3883.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/82","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: I was really taken aback because I thought I was in some sort of trouble. And so they walk me, as if I am being detained, up to JC's office. And it's four of us, JC on one side of the desk and us three from GLASA on the other side. JC asks, \"Can you design a flag?\" I was like, sure. And then the next question was, \"Can you design a T-shirt?\" \"I've never done so, but I could give it a try.\" And so those first moments were just us hashing details back and forth for the flag. I would take the T-shirt design home to work on it, working on the flag. And it was mostly a simple effort of putting a rainbow banner across the top half, but trying to find a color for the bottom that didn't clash, but wasn't like a boring white or a black color— something that felt like it made things flow. So I chose the silver. JC calls it wedgewood blue, I call it silver. We're referring to the same color. I call it silver just because it looks silver to me.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=3883.0,3996.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/83","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: But initially I crammed the CUNY, the year, PrideFest at Queens College together. It didn't sit right with either myself or JC. We were pondering what to do about it. And then Amir, who at this time, recall, was sitting on my left, was like, what if you put it on this side towards the left? And I was like, yes, this actually balances it. So this is where I started to not just start my design career, I would find out, but this is where I would learn to open up the design process to a more collaborative approach rather than a more one person, one and done get it out there.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=3996.0,4058.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/84","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: So yeah, I have very fond memories of that. And the T-shirt, I would come back to JC's office a week later, show them the design. The front was pretty much the flag, but laid vertically. But the back of the T-shirt had, excuse me, a parallelogram as well as the two main campuses that sponsored the event, LaGuardia Community College and Queens College, some necessary credit blurb to [City Council] Speaker Corey Johnson and Councilmember Daniel Dromm, district 25. And I was really proud of this detail that I put on the bottom there, that being the triangles. Two interlocked triangles, one dark gray, one light gray. So that was the T-shirt, and that is how I pretty much started working for JC.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=4058.0,4133.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/85","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Awesome. And we actually have copies of both the flag that you were talking about, which I can see how one might think that that is blue, but I think I agree that that is silver and the shirt that you referenced, and here on the back, the two triangles, which you mentioned are the two shades of gray because, and this was because of the printing of the shirt, right?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=4133.0,4167.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/86","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: Yeah. We needed to make the back of the shirt black and white just for funding reasons, but the front could be anything. So—","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=4167.0,4176.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/87","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Awesome.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=4176.0,4177.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/88","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: Yeah, that's why they're two different shades of gray.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=4177.0,4180.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/89","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: And could you tell me more about why the triangles?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=4180.0,4184.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/90","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: Okay, so it comes from me being a history buff. So during the late thirties and up to the mid forties, there was this horrible event carried out by Nazi Germany called the Holocaust. Many, many— 6 million+ Jews, racial minorities, political prisoners, what they would deem as homosexuals, anyone, as we now know as part of the LGBTQ plus community, et cetera, were detained, gassed, killed, et cetera. Very horrible time in history. And the way that the Nazi Germans would identify what type of detainee you were or person to be executed you were was by triangles on your left breast pocket. These people the Nazi Germans deemed not worthy of life were given white overalls with thin blue stripes running down. And on the left breast pocket would be these triangle insignia. Blue would be for political prisoners, yellow would be for Jewish folk, also sometimes a Star of David made by putting two of these triangles together, pink would be for homosexuals, white would be for members of foreign armies.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=4184.0,4304.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/91","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: The list goes on, and I don't remember the other three off the top of my head right now, other three categories that Nazis deemed of those people right now. So out of that, the triangle, the downward facing triangle has resurged in the reclamation of the triangles in that organizations, most notably ACT UP [the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power] in New York City in the 1980s, used an upside-down facing pink triangle to reference that we were almost eliminated, we're almost eliminated again, but we're still going to be strong. Silence equals death kind of situation. But the reason that I decided to use two triangles and of different shades stemmed back to that intersectional event and as well as my longing to connect various groups of peoples. So these two triangles are different shades of gray. Because of printing issues, dark gray and light gray, and they're nestled within each other. That to me was to symbolize that we not only have pride, that we not only have activism, but we show solidarity not only with members of our own group, but with members of other groups. So this is why the interlocking triangles of two different colors was such an important design element for me to include.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=4304.0,4424.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/92","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: Not because I wanted to insert myself somehow and just include the necessary information, but I felt it's so very important to show that this group is not only by us for us, but it's also for the world to see us and join us as we march towards furthering the narrative of diversity, equity, and inclusion.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=4424.0,4455.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/93","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Awesome. That's amazing. So you were doing this work for JC, and at some point you started working for the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives. Can you tell me how that came about?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=4455.0,4477.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/94","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: So at this point, I was primarily doing Pride Fest stuff with JC, but eventually I felt the need to do more and be more as a graphic designer with both clarity and passion being my two main wings, so to speak. So one of my proudest milestones as a graphic designer for JC was Stonewall 50: Remembering Trans People of Color. The 50th anniversary of Stonewall was in 2019, almost right before the pandemic. And so this, I felt had to be approached with such dignity as we're not only honoring the veterans, people who were long gone, like Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and other folks from our history, but also those who have died in the past year. Trans violence or violence against the trans community is the current epidemic. So I designed stuff that's both punchy and meaningful, combine the two distinct typefaces that Queens College uses, Baskerville and Gil Sans. Baskerville being the font on the famous Queen College [letter] Q, and Gil Sans being the college in the font that says \"college\" down below. I decided to mash the two together since I do know that they work so well and create graphics for the library rotunda. And whenever people would come in, they would pause for a moment to reflect on members of our community that we've lost, where we are now, and what else we have to do to continue our journey so that we may hopefully someday stand loud and proud and not worry that any one of our siblings may be gunned down.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=4477.0,4653.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/95","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: And so you started then working on the calendars for LaGuardia, right? Was that sort of a transitional experience to then start to work with LaGuardia?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=4653.0,4670.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/96","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: So I started working with LaGuardia in July, 2021. June, 2021, the month before, I decided to stop working for JC and see what other things I could do to broaden my graphic design portfolio. I stopped work for that month— I do food delivery services. And then on the first Monday after the 4th of July, JC calls me. In much the same tone that Amir had first approached me, \"Richard Lieberman wants to talk to you.\" I'm like, \"what?\"","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=4670.0,4727.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/97","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: [laughs]","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=4727.0,4727.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/98","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: And 15 minutes later, after that phone call with JC, Richard Lieberman, then director of the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives at LaGuardia Community College phones me and says, in his very charismatic tone of voice, \"Looking for a job?\"","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=4727.0,4755.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/99","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: And so he skims over the calendar and just praises me to which I blush and don't know how to respond immediately and just profusely thank him. And come that afternoon or evening, I receive an email, a job offer from LaGuardia Community College. I wrote a two-page thank you letter in which I detailed that there is no way to better honor our history going forward than looking at where we have been. And I felt that this was, at the time, perfect. It's still a pretty good experience of combining my loves for history, for understanding peoples of all walks of life, but also showcasing that in a graphic design format. I would get the information from faculty, choose among a collection of photos related to an event, and put it on the calendar. And I thought that was just perfect.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=4755.0,4841.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/100","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: And it came to my surprise that after designing the calendar, I started to feel a bit sad. A few days went by without any phone calls, and then Soraya Ciego-Lemur [then the Deputy Director of LaGuardia and Wagner Archives] called me and, \"Hi, we're ready to have an interview for your position as the part-time designer at the LaGuardia Wagner Archives.\" I say, \"Oh wow, okay. That's more of a thing than just a calendar.\" I get interviewed again and start work at LaGuardia as their graphic designer, as I guess their secondary video editor when work load for the primary video editor is a bit much, and just find other ways to diversify my portfolio. I learned a lot because with JC, I had the license to go wild on events that weren't as important as say, Stonewall 50, as CUNY Pride Fest at Queens College. So I had some design leeway to still experiment when the very pertinent events in our community weren't being held. But with starting work at the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives, I got to learn to approach a wider gamut of design sensibilities and tone down the experimental nature of it. And if I were to be experimental, put that in a corner somewhere. But all in all, it's been a very collaborative experience, and I've learned to engage with not just me and myself alone as initially, [or] myself and one other person, as was the case in the very first instance with myself and Amir, and then later myself and JC, but with a whole office worth of people. And it's been challenging, but I've enjoyed the challenge.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=4841.0,5000.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/101","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Awesome. I would be remiss to not ask a question about archives as an archivist. I'm so curious how your work in an archive now at LaGuardia has shaped your approach both to graphic design and also to Anthropology. You're an Anthropology student. How's that experience of working in an archive informed how you approach these various aspects of your passions?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=5000.0,5043.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/102","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: I think as a graphic designer, it goes back to, as I've mentioned, designing now for a more mature audience and be really firm in the design aesthetic and convey the information, have a little flourish, but don't go too far. But as for me, being an anthropology student, I have found it interesting while doing the video editing projects and/or the microfilm / microfiche projects for the video editing, we always hear news stories as if the other person is the subject. It's now interesting, it's the object of the conversation. Mayor [Eric] Adams wants to lower funding by ba ba ba [amount] on ba ba [topic] for example, or councilmember [City Council District 6] Gale Brewer wants a new park.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=5043.0,5120.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/103","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: We don't hear stories of people as they themselves want to tell the narrative. And so the video editing project really taught me a lot of like, who are these people, on the inside when the news cameras are off? But there is a more calm exchange rather than just focusing on today's headlines. As for the microfilm / microfiche projects, it gets into— I am an Anthro major, but I'm a huge history buff at heart. So it's like, oh, these are things that, letters that actually crossed paths at the time. So that's how that led to that, led to that, led to that. Coming back to the actual thing led to today's social reality, like the formation of Council District 3 being the gay village. It was a lot of dialogue between councilmembers at the time to carve out just a district for— at that time, there were no other words, talk about nuances— gays. So it's really scratched that history buff itch of mine.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=5120.0,5196.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/104","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Very cool. Awesome. So I'd like to sort of move us toward a close. Before I do, I want to open up if there's anything that we've not touched on that you would like to share about your experiences at Queens College, at LaGuardia. Anything that we've not touched on?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=5196.0,5227.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/105","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: I'm fine.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=5227.0,5229.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/106","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Great. So then I'd like to end this with a question that I'm always trying to ask myself, which is, what would you tell a new student at Queens College who identifies as queer in some way and is trying to find themselves in 2023? What advice would you give them?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=5229.0,5255.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/107","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: The first piece of advice would be don't stop who you are internally because other folks may not vibe with your presentation or how you carry yourself. Granted, if you're rude, maybe look at that. But in general, your presentation and how you carry yourself, you're allowed to explore these facets of your identity. And in Queens College, you have literally the world at your fingertips. And I'm not just saying this as I'm in a CUNY campus right now in Queens College, but I've been here as a student for a while now, and there is so much going on. You just need to find a path and run with it. Once I found Anthropology, I loved it. I've always wanted to understand what makes people themselves and how do we incorporate various identities into our culture as a whole.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=5255.0,5335.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/108","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: So my first path, I thought was going to be history, because I mentioned that I have this history itch that I keep scratching. I thought they focused mostly on people in the past. Psychology. Granted, while I found that incredibly interesting and did my best in those classes, I couldn't for the life of me remember the chemicals going around in the brain during exams.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=5335.0,5366.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/109","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: And then I found my way to Anthropology as recommended by— circling back to GLASA— at this time, 2013-2014, GLASA President Geni Sula, whose major was Medical Anthropology. Basically how humans have evolved from the earliest of primates. But that didn't really speak to me. But I liked this understanding of humans within broader context and understanding what really shaped the human experience. [Setting] the Anthropology department aside, I would say find your passion and run with it. And really run with it. Be serious about it. And one of the things that has really helped me along the way in various facets of life was to learn time management. This is not just a work thing, it's a work, school, and life thing. Once you learn how to manage your time, stress levels decrease. The quality of your life, your work, whether that be schoolwork or what you do as your occupation, the quality, that would increase as well. So time management is a very, very underrated skill. So once you have that and once you find your passion, let those be your wings and go for it. Fly away. Fly. You can do this.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=5366.0,5481.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/110","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Dani Stompor: Awesome. Thank you so much, Riley. For those listening, if you have any interest in looking at the journal that we were talking about, it is in our GLASA collection in Box 3 as well as the materials that Riley designed— the shirt and the flag are in Box 4. Alright, thank you so much Riley.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=5481.0,5508.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580/transcript/65092/annotation/111","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Riley Owens: Thank you.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/104/collection_resources/125327/file/230580#t=5508.0,5510.08653"}]}]}]}