What is Dandelion and Persistence Programming?
Dandelion is our new persistence programming and collective effort to focus on non-binary, transgender, and queer students while centralizing marginalized identities within our own community. Dandelion is inspired by writer, activist, queer, black feminist, adrienne maree brown and her book Emergent Strategy According to her “Dandelions are often mistakenly identified as weeds, aggressively removed, but are hard to uproot.” And they represent “Resilience. Resistance. Regeneration. Decentralization."
Much like dandelions, our non-binary, transgender, and queer communities are seen as weeds and we persist and continue to exist despite continued efforts to uproot us. Dandelions have many healing properties and when severed, have the ability to grow into many new plants. As they are continued to be uprooted they continue to find new ways to grow.
Dandelion is a platform to celebrate our resiliency, resistance, and regeneration while acknowledging who we have historically left behind. With this program, we actively center those in the margins so that we can collectively continue to persist and strengthen our roots.