“No one should be forgotten,” Donnett said.

Nationally recognized, the ninth annual Transgender Day of Remembrance will be observed at MSU with a march at 7 p.m. from the Union to the Administration Building, where students and community members will hold a candlelight vigil at 8 p.m.

When he lights his candle during the vigil tonight, Jonathan Beagley will remember his friend.

Beagley, a member of TransAction and The Alliance of LBGTA Students at MSU, said he got involved with the event after a transgender friend of his committed suicide recently.

Serving as a memorial to victims of violent crimes, the day also recognizes transgender people who have been denied necessary medical treatment or have taken their own lives and also raise awareness about the crimes and perpetrators.

Grace Wojcik, chairperson of the Alliance, said she thinks the day is an important way to remember a sometimes forgotten part of the Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Transgender community.

Transgender Day of Remembrance began in 1999 as a way to honor Rita Hester, a transgender woman from Boston who was murdered Nov. 28, 1998.

Brent Bilodeau, director of the LBGT Resource Center, added an educational element to the event with Monday’s lecture, Genderism: Transgender Students, Binary Systems, and Higher Education.

The binary system results in transgender students being confronted by the idea that there are only two genders, he said.

“This system of oppression, called genderism, is connected to anti-transgender feelings, hatred and violence,” Bilodeau said.

The vigil will commemorate Ian Benson, a 16-year-old transgender male from Holland, Mich., who committed suicide in October.

Shannon Garcia, president of TransYouth Family Advocates, also will speak at the event.

“She’s going to speak about how to remember and celebrate their lives as people, not just transgender people,” Beagley said.