This is Dalia Betcher, also from the Department of Philosophy.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And you know, Val, they sort of struggled with the big questions, and that's how I got
into philosophy.
And it was proposed to me, you know, why don't you make a more philosophy major?
You're really good at it.
And I was like, no.
You know, I'm not going to get a job.
And so here I am, because, you know, my father, who is my philosophy teacher,
sort of prophesied.
He said, if you have a good philosophy, you'll come back to it.
And sure enough, I did.
But, you know, I have a life to live, and I have a lot of questions as a trans person.
You know, like, what the hell is going on?
How do we figure out what's going on?
You know, is it confusing world?
It's not a world that's built for trans people.
You know, why is there so much invalidation?
Why is there so much violence and abuse?
And it was when a young trans girl, Juana Rajo, was murdered in Newark, California.
At the time, the media, the mainstream media, was very poor.
You know, they basically represented her as like a boy who dressed as a girl,
who was the same rhetoric that had been used by murderers,
and it was the same rhetoric that was used by the defense.
And so I wrote this paper called, People Deceivers and Main believers.
It really explores this idea of how trans people are viewed as
a willing man disguised as a woman,
a willing woman disguised as a man trying to trick people, trying to pretend.
And that was sort of my entrain to trans studies and trans philosophy.
When I moved to LA to get my PhD at UCLA,
and I transitioned midway through my program there,
because even though the department was very accepting, it was remarkable.
So, in really important ways, LA is home to me.
But it really wasn't until I started teaching at Cal State LA,
that I fell in love with the philosophy department here,
because it had such a strong feminist backbone,
that it was a pluralist department.
Well, I mean, for me, the most exciting moment in teaching is when conversation,
actually, philosophy breaks out between students.
It is always remains important that philosophy actually be engaged with the world.
I like it when students can do that as well.
And I like it when they can feel courageous enough to challenge their own beliefs.
Fundamental to like, you know, a university education,
you know, at least one time, one class, you know, you should have your mind blown.
So I took this, you know, a couple of workshops on performance art.
And it was, for me, a fountain.
As part of the narrative, I actually really did find the supporting in the garage
that he's exactly like the one I used to play.
I broke it out and went, wow.
You know, I'm going to use this.
You know, because the guardians are cool and they're funny.
I just messed up with them.
I really enjoy commencement and I really enjoy, you know,
I get even a little bit sentimental, you know, when students of mine succeed in that way.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
