In light of the recent interview between Bruce Jenner and Diane Sawyer, a discussion around transgender issues has been exploding. The Equinox would like to talk about life for trans students here at Keene State College. By raising questions about what changes can be made on this campus, we hope to ensure the safety and happiness of trans students. The Equinox would like to advocate for the rights of trangender students in the community.
A common issue here at KSC is that we do not have a preferred name policy. Many people from campus group KSC Pride and other students have expressed the need and desire to put this policy in place. By providing birth names on all official forms including emails, student IDs, student rosters, checks, etc., many students are outed to classmates and faculty.
For students who do not identify with their birth name, a lot of confusion and possible discomfort is created when they are referred to by that name.
It can also make the life for that particular student extremely stressful or uncomfortable. Oftentimes they
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do not want to have to explain themselves and their situation to others, but naturally people around them would have questions if the name on the roll call does not match the name they normally go by.
Calling students by names that they do not identify with can create unnecessary challenges in their day-to-day lives.
Another prominent issue many trans students have to face is wanting gender-inclusive bathroom access. Many people would like to see a simple change on the signs outside of the bathrooms.
This would alleviate the tension for trans students who would feel more comfortable using a certain bathroom, but feel as though they are not welcomed in that bathroom.
The Equinox believes that we as a college need to better work toward making the environment on campus as friendly and comfortable as possible for all.
We believe in fundamental human rights for all and believe KSC can do more when it comes to making the necessary changes the trans community wants and needs. The college needs to take a look at the policies they have in place and consider making changes.
As we all know, times have changed and it should not be unusual or taboo to recognize that there is a trans community on this campus that is demanding a change they are very much deserving of.
Although it may not be blatantly obvious who is trans and who is not, this does not mean that trans students don’t go here. We would like to acknowledge their presence on campus.
Although trans are not the majority at this school, this does not mean that we should not be seeking ways to create a safer environment for them.
We encourage all authority members at this college to consider the trans community when making decisions. KSC needs to make strides towards certain changes that have already been made at other colleges.
According to University of Massachusetts Amherst’s LGBT organization, there are more than 150 schools across the U.S. that have gender neutral bathrooms.
Although this number seems high, when you put it into perspective, there are far more colleges than 150. This means there are still many colleges that have not implemented the necessary changes to help trans community feel more comfortable.
We believe KSC as a whole does a good job at accepting all different kinds of people regardless of who they are, what they believe in and where they come from. But we believe now is the time we need to take that acceptance one step further.
The Equinox wants to advocate rights for all people. We are hopeful that all students can feel safe and accepted not only here on this campus, but also wherever they may go in life.
