Vermont
Vermont Conversation: ‘I am trans, I am here’: Randolph high school student speaks out after hate campaign
The Vermont Dialog with David Goodman is a VTDigger podcast that options in-depth interviews on native and nationwide points with politicians, activists, artists, changemakers and residents who’re making a distinction. Pay attention under, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Spotify to listen to extra.
A transgender Vermont highschool scholar who was the goal of a transphobic hate marketing campaign is breaking her silence.
“I would like to have the ability to go on the market and sort of simply say, ‘I’m trans, I’m right here,’” mentioned the 14-year-old first-year scholar at Randolph Union Excessive College, who requested to be recognized as Rabbit on this interview. The Vermont Dialog and VTDigger are defending the coed’s privateness out of concern for her security.
In late September, Vermont tv station WCAX aired a information story concerning the woman’s volleyball group at Randolph Union Excessive College. Rabbit had lately joined the group, and WCAX featured a single scholar who objected to Rabbit’s presence within the woman’s locker room.
The story was instantly picked up by right-wing media retailers together with Fox Information, the New York Publish, the British tabloid the Every day Mail and the conservative Heritage Basis. This unleashed a “wildfire of bigotry and hatred,” in line with Rabbit’s mom, and a torrent of transphobic hate messages to Rabbit, her household and the college. The college district web site was hacked and compelled offline after the positioning was flooded with transphobic messages. Rabbit briefly left college in concern for her security.
The truth is, Rabbit was being bullied by a small group of scholars, her mom mentioned. WCAX quickly eliminated the story from its web site.
However the injury had been carried out.
“I used to be at risk,” Rabbit mentioned. “And never solely me, however the trans youth group of Randolph and of Vermont resulting from this disgraceful and defaming information article.”
This incident comes as transgender individuals are underneath unprecedented assault, particularly in Republican-led states. 4 states have enacted a partial or whole bans on gender-affirming care, and 20 different states try to cross such payments. Texas Gov. Greg Abbot declared that oldsters and well being care suppliers who present gender-affirming care to trans youth will be investigated for little one abuse. Some 85% of trans or nonbinary youth say their psychological well being has been negatively affected by these legal guidelines, and greater than half have thought of suicide previously yr, in line with the Trevor Venture, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group.
“A lot of Rabbit’s story completely mirrors what is going on throughout the nation and right here in Vermont,” mentioned Dana Kaplan, government director of Outright Vermont, an LGBTQ+ advocacy and help group. “There is a steady barrage of messages which are concentrating on queer and trans younger folks telling them that they don’t seem to be valued, that they don’t seem to be cared for, that they don’t seem to be allowed to exist, that they don’t seem to be allowed to entry their pleasure, and actually typical issues that each one younger folks want to have the ability to do to develop self esteem (and) to thrive.”
On the similar time, there has additionally been an outpouring of help for Rabbit from everybody from her volleyball teammates to strangers who despatched her letters.
“I simply need you to keep in mind that we’re kids,” volleyball group captain Lilly Patton mentioned to a crowd of about 350 individuals who attended a public assembly in Randolph in October. “It’s one little one on the receiving finish of all this hate. You’re saying all these items to a baby who’s already at excessive danger, who already doesn’t really feel accepted. This little one didn’t do something to anybody, particularly you adults. I used to be there. She was the place she was speculated to be.”
Rabbit mentioned she appreciates these allies.
“Any message of help that you may give to trans youth or trans folks on the whole … make it identified as a result of, oh my god, it helps a lot,” she mentioned.
“My hopes and desires are to indicate folks that they’ll simply be who they’re and that they do not want the approval of others or the approval of even their relations,” Rabbit mentioned. “You simply must be you.”
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BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – New York officials are highlighting the opening of a new tourism trail.
The trail, dubbed the Northern Department, spans Vermont, New York and Quebec.
It shares the Hudson-Champlain corridor’s significance in the fight for independence and features 18 museums, historic sites and cultural destinations to visit. That includes places like Fort Ticonderoga, Vermont State Historic Sites and Indigenous cultural centers.
It comes just ahead of America’s 250th birthday celebrations.
Copyright 2025 WCAX. All rights reserved.
Vermont
Vermont Conversation: As Vermonters go hungry, the Trump administration threatens cuts to food assistance – VTDigger
The Vermont Conversation with David Goodman is a VTDigger podcast that features in-depth interviews on local and national issues. Listen below and subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get podcasts.
Hunger stalks the Green Mountains like a silent and stealthy predator. Two out of five people in Vermont experience hunger, according to Hunger Free Vermont. And the problem may soon get much worse.
The Trump administration has proposed sweeping cuts to SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, the nation’s largest food assistance program. The Senate is currently considering a budget reconciliation bill passed by the House that includes billions of dollars in cuts to SNAP and Medicaid. Up to 13,000 Vermonters may have their food assistance reduced or eliminated if the measure is approved. Many legal immigrants, including refugees and asylees, will no longer be eligible for food benefits, according to Ivy Enoch of Hunger Free Vermont.
To find out what this means to the people who will be directly affected by the potential cuts, I visited the largest food shelf in central Vermont, located at Capstone Community Action in Barre. The food shelf is open three days a week. When I visited, a steady stream of people of all ages came through the doors, quietly but gratefully filling grocery bags of food. Volunteers buzzed about helping.
Emmanuelle Soumailhan, coordinator for Capstone’s food shelf, said that the food shelf gets about 800 to 1,000 visitors per month, double the traffic it received before the Covid pandemic. The potential for federal cuts has her concerned that “we’re not going to have enough food and we’re going to see a surge of people … (and) we’re just going to run out of money.”
Stephanie Doyle came to the food shelf to get food for her family. She said that her SNAP benefits did not cover her family’s food needs for the month. “You just can’t afford getting fruits and vegetables and all that stuff that you need to do to be healthy, especially when you have a child that you’re taking care of.”
Doyle wants to ensure that her teenage daughter is “fueled really well in school so that she has a chance to thrive and get a good education just like all of the other kids who have more.”
Leslie Walz, a retired school nurse from Barre, was volunteering at the food shelf. She was outraged by the prospect that SNAP funding would be slashed.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen to these people that are dependent on the food shelf here,” she said. “Many of them don’t have a place to live. They’re living out of their cars. They were living in motels. It’s essential. It can’t be cut, not if we have a heart.”
Liz Scharf, director of community economic development and food security at Capstone, insisted that philanthropy and charity can not replace lost federal funds. She is hopeful that the most draconian cuts will be avoided.
“I just hope that in the end we’re a country that decides to make sure our people are cared for, rather than giving money to the highest wealth individuals in this country through tax breaks,” said Scharf.
Disclosure: David Goodman’s wife, Sue Minter, was the executive director of Capstone Community Action from December 2018 to January 2025.
We’re Jammin’
Sunday 15
The annual Strawberry Festival at Middletown Springs Historical Society continues a half-century of sweet summer tradition. Fruit lovers revel in a craft fair of local artisans’ wares, acoustic tunes, kids’ activities and a quilt exhibit. Berries by the quart and decadent shortcake made with fresh fruit,homemade biscuits, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream make a lip-smacking grand finale.
Get Out and Play
Saturday 14 & Sunday 15
Vermont Days welcomes residents and tourists of all ages for a weekend of free access to state parks, historical sites and museums across the Green Mountain State. Early summer vibes reach new heights with lakeside lounging in beach chairs or a pastoral mid-hike picnic at the peak. If angling is more your speed, Saturday’s glorious Free Fishing Day makes waves with lifted license requirements.
Swamp Things
Friday 13
Friday the 13th generally bodes superstition, but there’s nothing to fear when the bayou comes to Burlington for a High Country Boil at Hotel Vermont. Southern spice meets Northern attitude at this twisty take on a traditional Cajun meal, accompanied by two-step dance lessons, local brews and live music by Louisiana’s Pine Leaf Boys — bringing a unique blend of zydeco, swamp-pop and soul to Yankee ears.
If It Ain’t Brogue
Saturday 14
The Vermont Institute of Celtic Arts invites clans clad in flannel and tartans to Greensboro for the Vermont Highland Games at Highland Center for the Arts. Folks explore their heritage — or learn about others’ — with myriad music performances, cultural demos and seminars throughout the day. Gleeful guests try everything from Gaelic to step dancing and show their strength in a rousing tug-of-war.
Free to Be You and Me
Ongoing
Hexum Gallery exhibits resplendent works by 21 LGBTQ+ artists from across the country at the “Family Jewels” group show in Montpelier. Connoting a bit more than just jewelry, the cheeky title alludes to the gallery’s playful-yet-elegant curation of paintings, drawings and mixed media, where unabashed queer joy, imagination and the importance of chosen family permeate the space.
Field of Dreams
Sunday 15
Batter up! Families hit it out of the park when they cheer Dad on at Billings Farm & Museum’s Father’s Day “Base Ball” in Woodstock. A friendly, historic game — adhering to the sport’s 1860 rules — awaits players (not just dads), replete with wood-shaving baselines, straw-filled canvas bases, and metal home and pitcher plates. Ash bat reproductions and bare-handed fielders complete the theme.
Tea’s Company
Sunday 15
Patrons enjoy a proper partea at the Afternoon Tea & Tea Etiquette Talk at the Governor’s House in Hyde Park. The elegant inn affords an ideal backdrop as fancy folks lift pinkies and dig into a full English spread, while questions about quaffing quandaries — milk first or last? — are answered. Now, go forth and host that formal steep sesh you’ve always dreamed of!
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