Photo by Madelyn Dalley ‘27.
By Madelyn Dalley ’27
News Editor
Content warning: This article discusses gendered violence, transphobia and the death of a child.
On Feb. 7, 2024, 16-year-old Indigenous nonbinary student Nex Benedict went to use the bathroom at their Oklahoma high school. Teen Vogue reported that because of anti-transgender laws in the state, requiring students to use the bathroom that correlated with the gender they were assigned at birth, Benedict, who used he/him and they/them pronouns, was required to use the women’s restroom, Teen Vogue reported.
While in the bathroom, Benedict was attacked by three teenage girls before being rushed to the hospital and eventually released later that night. The following day, they collapsed while at home and were later pronounced dead, the New York Times reported.
A cause of death has yet to be determined, according to Teen Vogue, but many LGBTQ+ rights activists in America are pointing the finger at Oklahoma’s strict gender laws as a key factor in Benedict’s death.
On Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, a vigil was held at 7 p.m. in front of Abbey Memorial Chapel at Mount Holyoke College, where attendees received small candles to light to honor the life and mourn the death of Nex Benedict. Afterwards, the organizer, Naoise Grybko ’26, opened the vigil with an overview of Benedict’s death and a eulogy.
The New York Times reported that Nex Benedict was an Indigenous two-spirit child whose adoptive mother was Sue Benedict. According to Teen Vogue, he was a straight-A student who loved Minecraft and animals. According to Sue’s interview with The Independent, Nex, who was affiliated with the Choctaw Nation, was bullied for more than a year.
Grybko then encouraged the audience to step forward and share their thoughts or feelings about the tragic loss. Several mourning students took this opportunity to voice their grievances.
Many students took to the stand to emphasize Benedict’s Indigenous heritage and two-spirit nonbinary identity and how this death reflects a greater issue with hate crimes against Indigenous people in the United States. Multiple attendees, including someone who claimed to have grown up close to Benedict’s high school, brought up the pattern of Indigenous people, particularly women, suddenly going missing nationwide. This pattern, the speakers said, further highlights the already prominent problem of Indigenous people being targeted in hate crimes.
Many students also showed concern for their younger loved ones, especially those who are trans, due to anti-transgender legislation appearing nationwide. According to translegislation.com, as of March 10, six anti-trans bills have already been passed by state legislatures in 2024 and four have been signed into law, with 44 more being introduced or engrossed. Many vigil attendees shared the sentiment that the federal and state governments are actively targeting transgender youth through discriminatory legislation.
Some speakers said this fear was also influenced by their own experiences coming out to family members. One student recalled that when coming out, their grandparents had responded with, “Oh, that’s dangerous.” This student said that they now understand this response, given the continued deaths of queer and transgender people nationwide coupled with their fear for their trans loved ones.
Many transgender attendees took this vigil as an opportunity to address how cisgender people can respect and support their transgender peers during this time.
“I hope to see an increase in true cisgender allyship. That is, doing more than just being friendly to trans people,” attendee Luca Gorman ’26 said in a post-vigil interview. “Educate each other, kindly correct others when they mess up someone's name or pronouns, [and] use the women's bathroom if you can so that trans students can use the … gender-inclusive bathrooms.”
After an emotional, tearful and heavy vigil, Grybko dismissed the attendees at around 8:15 p.m.
“Moving forward, I hope the vigil reminds cisgender Mount Holyoke students that our trans community on campus is beautiful, real, and hurting,” Gorman added. “Just because we are at a ‘gender inclusive’ institution doesn't mean we don't face transphobia.”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article stated that due to conflicting coverage regarding Nex Benedict’s pronouns, we would refrain from using them in this story. However, MHN has since been able to confirm that Nex Benedict used he/him and they/them pronouns based on recent coverage from Teen Vogue.