chandigarh as panjab university pu campus abuzz with sloganeering and promises ahead of the student body polls the transgender students find it difficult to get their issues heard they yearn for some representation amid this brouhaha of pollstersyashika a secondyear masters student of human rights and duties at the varsity says it pains her that no partys manifesto talks about the rights of the students from the marginalised genders she says we have been seeing parties campaigning for a long time all of them talk about feminism and women rights which is appreciable but none of them ever addresses trans rights we have seen all manifestos not one of them mentions trans welfare the student organisations dont talk about usadding her everyday struggles in the campus she says while many students are empathetic towards me a lot of teaching and nonteaching staff is not sensitive at all some of them are very transphobicyashika was recently in the news when she was facing issues with her hostel accommodation later she was given a room in the faculty guest house she feels the student parties should also focus on making the campus more inclusive for everyonesanjana a firstyear masters student enrolled in the same course asyashika shares how life in the campus is difficult for them she says my class is really great my teachers and friends are very supportive of me but things get ugly the moment i step out of my class she adds im new here and cant really comment on the political parties but i agree that there is no sensitisation in the staff the gender minorities are excluded i would really like it if more and more student parties could talk about people like me who are struggling every daynotably pu was first university in the country to have built separate washrooms for transgender students it is also among the few educational institutes where education is free for the third gender