Queer Get Down, the largest queer club night in Cambridge, has issued an apology after appearing to promote a club night for Transgender Day of Remembrance.

The ‘Transcendence’ club event, which was held earlier this week (27/11), was first marketed on Transgender Day of Remembrance, with a poster featuring a lit candle.

Transgender Day of Remembrance has been held annually on the 20th of November since 1999, to raise awareness of violence towards transgender people.

Queer Get Down is a student-led charity club night, held in MASH. In the event’s listing on Fixr, organisers drew attention to Transgender Day of Remembrance, writing: “We would like to give you an occasion to come together in celebration.”

The listing also noted that proceeds from the event would fund future Queer Get Down events, and that donations would go towards “raising money for trans-affirming healthcare”.

After receiving criticism for this advertising, organisers took down their initial posts and posted a public apology for the “poorly judged recent post,” promising to be “even more cognisant and conscious” going forward.

The organisers claimed that any association between the club event and the day of memorial was coincidental, and admitted that the event was “potentially” taken to be “an advertisement” for a Transgender Day of Remembrance-themed club night. “This was not our intention for the night at all,” they said.

According to the organisers, the tickets were released on Transgender Day of Remembrance due to contractual obligations, which require tickets to be released a minimum of seven days before any event.

A new Instagram post publicising the event featured a white circle, rather than the lit candle that had been used previously.

One student told Varsity: “While I know the committee was acting in good faith and are trying their best, it still hurts that they not only did this, but are so quickly trying to brush this under the rug.”

“I don’t see how the en masse killing of transgender women, particularly trans women of colour, is relevant to a club night,” the student continued.

Another student told Varsity that they are “hurt and confused by these actions”.

“It is shocking that they would frame a club night for remembering those who have died when they could have easily as well done it for transgender week of visibility,” they said.

A third student recognised that, while “the core idea behind trans giving is definitely a good one”, due to very limited options for trans healthcare, “connecting this effort to a club night [...] feels disrespectful”.

“Trans remembrance is usually a very sombre affair [...] it is a reminder of the challenges and violence we face on a daily basis along with the guilt at being one of those who survives,” they said.

The Queer Get Down organisers told Varsity: “We acknowledge that we have caused a misunderstanding which has hurt some members of the trans community in Cambridge and moving forward we will do our very best to mend the bond we have.”

The organisers asserted that the event was not reframed following the apology, and that their “original intention” was a “queer mythology-themed night [...] in which we would platform and donate to various trans mutual aid causes.”