A Princeton Boycott:

Op-Ed: Princeton Kicked a Trans Runner Off the Track. Now Athletes Are Organizing A Boycott

The alleged targeting of transgender runners at non-professional events marks an alarming escalation.

Editors Note: The following article is an Op-Ed submitted by Max Freedman. Max Freedman is a journalist covering LGBTQ+ topics, primarily but not entirely politics and music, from Philadelphia, PA.

When transgender runner Sadie Schreiner was allegedly removed from the heat sheet at Princeton University’s May 3, 2025 Larry Ellis Invitational track meet simply for being transgender, she sued the university and accused it of discrimination—and she’s not the only transgender runner taking action. Winter Parts, a well-known transgender running advocate, is organizing a boycott of Princeton’s two spring 2026 track meets, the Sam Howell Invitational on April 4 and the Larry Ellis Invitational on May 1.

“I want to see [the Larry Ellis Invitational organizers] face visible consequences for excluding someone from their meet,” Parts said. “My hope is that a lot of [athletes boycott]. I think it would send a strong financial and visual message to the Princeton officials if they’re going through the effort of trying to put on this meet, and nobody wants to show up because everyone’s upset with how they treated Sadie.” Notably, Parts doesn’t personally know Schreiner—who ran as “unattached” at the 2025 Larry Ellis Invitational, meaning unaffiliated with a running club or university track and field team but eligible to participate based on prior official race times—but was moved to take action nonetheless.

Although excluding transgender runners is, unacceptably and despicably, par for the course these days at professional running events—current NCAA and USA Track & Field policies ban transgender women from competing with other women—the two Princeton track meets aren’t professional events, making their alleged transgender exclusion an alarming escalation. Just as potentially concerning is that, whereas both track meets have previously been open to unattached runners and runners from clubs, Parts said that a coach from a prominent running club told them that, for the 2026 meets, only runners on university track and field teams are eligible to participate. It is unclear if or how this newly restricted eligibility is related to Schreiner’s pending litigation against Princeton athletic director John Mack and Princeton director of track operations Kimberly Keenan-Kirkpatrick. Mack, Keenan-Kirkpatrick, and a representative for the third defendant in Schreiner’s lawsuit, Leone Timing & Results Services, did not respond to multiple requests for comment, and Schreiner was unable to comment due to her litigation.

Parts has emailed the track and field coaching staff at just under three dozen prominent colleges and universities, including Rutgers University, Temple University, and Columbia University, to demand that they and their runners boycott the 2026 meets. They have also contacted Mack and Keenan-Kirkpatrick to inform them of the boycotts, and some of their friends have joined their boycotting efforts and contacted their alma maters to encourage non-participation.

Avery Prizzi, a non-binary runner who has encouraged eligible runners not to attend the events, said that it feels like an escalation of transphobic rhetoric that a mere track meet, rather than a professional race, has excluded transgender runners. “[The events are] an experience [where] there’s no qualification, there’s no prizes, no first-place trophy,” Prizzi said. “People go to run fast and get a time for themselves. It’s all post-collegiate stuff. There’s no incentive besides running fast. To know that [the event organizers are] just gonna be garbage toward what, effectively, is just a place for people to go and better themselves or race a clock seems completely pointless or outside the mission I figured they were touting.”

Non-binary runner Will Vedder said that “the whole issue that’s been raised on a national level around trans inclusion or exclusion in sports is this, pun intended, trumped-up issue.” Vedder is a 2025-2026 board member of Philadelphia Runner Track Club (PRTC), and although PRTC members are ineligible to participate and the organization does not endorse boycotts, Vedder has told people about the boycotts to nevertheless support transgender runners, saying that excluding transgender people from sports is “based on misinformation. As we know, trans women don’t have any advantage over cis women when it comes to competitiveness in sports. Studies have shown that again and again. The fact that people are acting against what science says and excluding people who just want to run and compete, it’s infuriating.”

A 2023 Frontiers in Sports and Active Living study acknowledges a lack of evidence that transgender athletes are superior in performance and concludes, “Individuals should not have to make a choice between being their authentic selves or being athletes.” Only one transgender person, Quinn—a non-binary Canadian soccer player who uses a mononym in place of a traditional first and last name—has won a gold medal at the Olympics. Additionally, some transgender women runners, including Schreiner herself, have noticed that their performance permanently decreases after starting hormone replacement therapy (HRT). As made clear by the lack of scientific evidence about transgender runners’ supposed athletic advantages, transgender participation in not just running but all sports harms absolutely nobody. It’s the exclusion of transgender athletes that causes harm, and the consequences of this maltreatment reach far beyond the field.

“In the context of the things going on with trans people,” Parts said, “small actions like kicking a trans person out of a track meet build up to the general public thinking lowly of trans people, thinking it’s okay for laws to be passed affecting our lives, demonizing us, trying to eventually result in us being jailed or killed. Trying to push back against that will, hopefully, help increase acceptance of trans people in the public eye.” And with that, the chances of anti-transgender laws being passed — or even proposed — could decrease. A boycott might feel small, but it could help reverse the tides in a big way, and if you know runners on college and university track and field teams, you too can demand that they not participate in the 2026 Sam Howell and Larry Ellis Invitationals.

Observing Women’s History Month

I haven’t made a Women’s History Month post in a while; it’s difficult to feel celebratory in the face of what both very bad men and women are doing in our names in the US these days. However, to make up for being remiss in re-recording history, please accept this post about Rose O’Neill. I first learned of her when my grandparents moved to Springfield, MO in 1970, and took us to her small museum at the small, then-non-commercial Shepherd Of The Hills area. (It was great back then!) I knew of Kewpies (I don’t care for the cutesiness, but they are art nonetheless,) but had no idea a woman created them, nor that she did so much art right in the area where we were then living. I began to be a fan, but sort of let it go as I got older. Below will be a PBS documentary that is excellent, and inspired me to make this post for March 21st. There is also some other info. Enjoy, and remember, we all have history, and it doesn’t go away just because someone makes it more difficult to find (yes, that is encouraging myself as well as readers who’ve made it this far!)

Here is a link with a snippet, about the museum now in Walnut Shade, MO. I bet all the things I remember will be there. Maybe I’ll make it over there and try again. It looks far less commercialized than Shepherd of the Hills last time I was there.

Rose O’Neill’s Bonniebrook

“I love this place better than anywhere on earth”
-Rose O’Neill about Bonniebrook

Bonniebrook is a historic home and museum located in Walnut Shade, Missouri, just a short drive from Branson. Our museum is dedicated to preserving the life and legacy of artist, writer, and activist Rose O’Neill, best known for her creation of the Kewpie dolls.

Bonniebrook Museum features Rose’s original drawings, paintings, and sculptures, artifacts from the O’Neill home, a large collection of Kewpies and other characters, the O’Neill family cemetery, and much more!

As one of the only art museums and historical homes in the Branson area, Bonniebrook is a must-see destination for those looking for things to do in Branson, Missouri and the surrounding areas. Come visit this well-preserved piece of history!

Mission Statement:
Bonniebrook Historical Society (BHS) was founded in 1975. Its purpose is to collect, preserve, and make available for educational and historical purposes artifacts, documents, personal items, and any work or items directly relating to the history and life of Rose O’Neill. In addition, BHS accumulates research, materials that document, authenticate, explain, and provide detailed information about the character, personality, and accomplishments of the talented and generous Rose O’Neill.

https://www.roseoneill.org/

And here is the documentary I watched yesterday and mentioned above. It’s very worthy of views!

For The Weekend On A Friday Night

Ballad of the Wandering Charms: Weekend Edition

A Softening of the Day

Richard Hogan, MD, PhD(2), DBA

O come now, friend, and rest your bones,
the week’s been fierce and long;
but Ease comes stepping down the lane
to hum you its soft song.

A Lantern glows along the path,
a stubborn, golden spark;
the kind our grandfolks swore was left
to guide us through the dark.

Stillness drapes its woolen shawl
around your weary frame;
it whispers like an old seanchaí
who’s long forgotten blame.

The Hearth is warm for wanderers,
its welcome deep and wide;
it keeps a chair for every soul
the world has weathered tired.

Then Solace pours a quiet cup
the colour of the dawn;
it doesn’t ask what burdens ache—
it simply sits till they’re gone.

Your Breath returns like gentle rain
across an Irish hill;
it fills the fields inside your chest
and bids your heart be still.

And Grace—ah sure, it comes uncalled,
the way good blessings do;
it settles on your shoulders light
as morning’s silver dew.

An Ember glows beneath it all,
a spark that won’t give in;
the same that warmed our ancestors
through storm and winter’s din.

So walk with Gentle in your step,
let kindness be your guide;
for those who move with softened hands
find strength they need not hide.

And Here you stand, upon the earth,
your troubles set to rest;
the world leans in a little close
and wishes you its best.

Should you wish, please feel free to subscribe (no Paywalls): (Link up top as the title)

Thank you.

FWIW, All My Very Best

for a fine Spring this year. As I type, the Equinox will occur in 54 minutes. This is a striking photo!

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 20

Spring Equinox at Teide Observatory
Image Credit & Copyright: Juan Carlos Casado (Starry Earth, TWAN)

Explanation: The defining astronomical moment of the equinox today is at 14:46 UTC (March 20). That’s when the Sun crosses the celestial equator moving north in its yearly journey through planet Earth’s sky, marking the beginning of spring for our fair planet in the northern hemisphere and fall in the southern hemisphere. Then, day and night are nearly equal around the globe. In fact, both day and nighttime exposures from a spring equinox at the Observatorio del Teide in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, are used in this composited skyscape. Over 1,000 images were taken with a fisheye lens and merged in the ambitious equinox project. The apparent motion of the Sun setting along the celestial equator on the equinox date follows the bright linear, diagonal track from the sequence of daytime exposures taken over 6 hours. After sunset, nighttime exposures recorded startrails, with the celestial equator as a linear track and concentric arcs circling the north celestial pole near Polaris at upper right and the south celestial pole beyond the lower left edge (and below the Teide horizon). The foreground includes the distant Teide volcano peak and the observatory’s pyramid-shaped solar laboratory building.

Tomorrow’s picture: NGC 1300 and Friends

Reblogging da-AL:

https://happinessbetweentails.com/2026/03/12/persian-new-year-nowruz-hyacinths-hope-in-dark-times/?page_id=452976

Josh Day, Next Day

No oopsies on posting Josh Johnson! Remember device/keyboard protective protocols.

For Randy who is not feeling well right now.

Everyday Heroes

Hi Everyone. Today is a slow day for me, and I need it. Yesterday I had a, probably, very minor surgery, but it was a huge issue for me because, well, I have issues. I don’t like to be touched, and I get anxiety when I don’t know what to expect. It comes from having to dodge the unexpected, ya know? So, for me to go into such a situation is stressful, and ironically, the lead up to the event is by far the greatest part of the stress. But, yesterday, the clerical, nursing, doctors, and whoever else that I was too oblivious to observe their quiet professional efficiency, made sure I knew what was to happen, were personable and funny and absolutely great.

I don’t know how I would classify myself as a patient, but I do have a fair understanding of myself. When I get anxious, I talk more, joke a lot – and I’m really not funny to anyone – all in an effort to control the situation. It’s silly, I know, but it’s me. So, these poor people had to deal with this idiot. They were communicative, engaging, funny, and helpful. Shoot, the lady in recovery helped me put my pants and shoes on. I don’t know how much she gets paid, but it can’t be enough!

The thing about people who work in service is that they rarely hear about their job unless something goes wrong. Then, oh boy, do they hear about it. Perfection is unattainable, but something I once heard from my father has stayed with me: It’s the mark of a true craftsman who can take a mistake and still come out perfect. I obviously don’t know if any mistakes happened, but I do know this: it was my job to show up and place myself in their hands so they could solve my problems for me. They did a great job of that.

Now to answer your probable questions: My story basically begins with a sinus infection that I later realized, via the very bad taste in my mouth, was accompanied by a dental abscess. I went from not feeling so great to being in serious trouble and Scottie sent me off to the walk-in-clinic. And, why is it that I only get sick on weekends???? But, that followed with a trip to the dentist where I spent almost three hours getting a cleaning followed by a molar extraction. Remember: I don’t like to be touched. I was having the shakes in the car ride home afterward so bad I had to pull over before I wrecked. Unfortunately, that particular molar tends to send its roots into the maxillary sinus cavity, and the sinus membrane grows/seals around the roots. But, between the abscess, the bad root and the sinus infection, that membrane was weakened and did not heal. So, I had a hole in my head, one that did not heal. So, the doctor fixed a deviated septum, while he was in there anyway he says, cleaned out my maxillary sinus, did something to the membrane to help it heal, roughed up the root hole and stitched the hole to my mouth closed. Took about 90 minutes. Total cost so far is approaching $25,000. My insurance company is not happy with me. My costs exceed $5,000, not including three missed days of work and a week plus of light duty, but I can’t exactly have a hole in my head.

My lessons from this:
* Take care of your teeth!
* If you have a problem, don’t figure it will solve itself in time. Call someone! Get it resolved, or at least understood. Yes, it’s expensive, but Wow! – does it get expensive if you don’t take care of it when it’s relatively cheap.
* Be appreciative of the people who are there to help you. They are not a servant, they are doing a task you can not do for yourself but need, and they are due respect. On Monday, I am going to take in a box of Lindor Truffles to the surgery center at the hospital. It’s a small cost, especially in relation to the rest of it, but it goes to the people who helped me when I was a mess. And, let’s face it, anyone who helps me put on my pants and shoes deserves at least chocolate!

Hugs.
-Randy

ps: to anyone who helps people with a smile and good humor: Thank you!

A Quick & Easy Women’s History Post

It is almost 4 minutes. Watch it when you get a few minutes; not only is it history-making that she still sounds like this at 79, but the screen or screens behind her have their own little history bits. Enjoy! It’s not hard-rocking or loud or anything.