Gender inclusiveness cannot wait

Southwestern College prides itself on its diverse student population, but still overlooks the needs of LGBTQIA students – especially transgender and nonbinary students.

With a lack of safe spaces on campus, gender-normative driven classes and little emphasis on gender inclusion overall, SWC is not taking proactive measures to ensure the voices of LGBTQIA students are being heard. SWC cannot claim to “provide services to a diverse community of students,” as quoted in the school’s motto, while picking and choosing what policies and rights these students deserve to have. LGBTQIA folk are people, not a number for college statistics.

The most SWC has provided for nonbinary and trans students are gender-neutral bathrooms (which are often locked or inaccessible), a small cubicle in a shared place for SWC’s Sexuality and Gender Acceptance club, and “safe-zone” stickers stuck on office windows around campus to promote the message that this is a safe and LGBTQIA friendly environment.

But the LGBTQIA community deserves more than bathroom rights and stickers.

Guadalupe Corona, Director of Diversity Inclusion and Equity and Liaison for LGBTQIA Needs, said she is working on making campus safer and more inclusive by holding workshops and events that promote LGBTQIA rights and tolerance.

“National Coming Out Month is held all throughout July, but because students are not on campus during this time, we hold it in October,” Corona said. “We have a lot of events and workshops where we talk about identity, privilege, and gender inclusiveness, and invite guest speakers like Gretta Moreno to talk about the importance of accepting and understanding differences.”

Gretta Moreno is a trans woman who suffered abuse and harassment under the prison system and now advocates for LGBTQIA rights.

However, just because these events are available does not mean that the college is a safe place. Attendees that voluntarily go already understand and sympathize with this group and their struggle.

“When you make it mandatory, you get resistance, pushback, and I don’t think it feels genuine,” Corona said. “I think because we’ve made it optional and we’ve really encouraged it, people feel left out that they’re not doing it and I think that’s a really good place to be.”

Letting people “feel left out” implies that respecting people for who they are is a passing fad. Trans and nonbinary people should not give up their safety for the sake of others who feel uncomfortable or troubled having to learn how to respect a person. Respect is mandatory, not a trend.

Advisor of SAGA and instructor of Human Sexuality Shannon Pagano said that she believes discussions about inclusion and safe zone training should be mandatory, especially for employees.

“When we make these things optional, what we get is a room full of people who are already allies and who already support the community,” Pagano said. “The people that need to hear this message the most are the people who wouldn’t come to these things unless they are required to.”

Allowing inclusivity to be an option makes trans and nonbinary students feel like they are not a priority and negatively impacts their academic performance. This puts them at a higher risk to drop out compared to cisgender or heterosexual students. A 2009 report by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) found that 33 percent of LGBTQIA students of color avoided attending class at least once or missed at least one day of school over a one-month period because of safety reasons. GLSEN also found that these students’ overall GPAs dropped as a result of harassment based on sexual orientation and/or race/ethnicity.

Classrooms are an even bigger nightmare for trans and nonbinary students.

Alecs Cooley, a trans male student, said he has never felt comfortable or safe on campus.

“A lot of teachers on campus set up an environment where it’s very exclusionary,” Cooley said. “I rarely say my pronouns just because it’s too complicated and messy, and when I do, I find myself lowering my voice as if it’s a bad thing or as if I’m inconveniencing them.”

Corona said SWC has a policy allowing students to register with their self-given name, rather than their legal name, so that they can be referred to properly in class.

“We have an option for new and returning students on campus where they can choose their preferred name so that it would show on the roster of their classes until they legally change their names,” Corona said. “I think that’s a big piece in supporting an individual’s identity and we have had several students use that already.”

Calling students what they want to be called is not a reason for SWC to pat itself on the back.

SWC has to educate teachers on gender identity and sexuality. Using preferred pronouns and removing gender-driven words from dialogue is not enough. People need to sympathize with these students and understand their daily challenges.

Pagano said it is important for teachers to see trans and nonbinary students as actual people.

“When we’re comparing the work – emotional, physical and psychological work – that trans and nonbinary folk have to go through to be at this institution, to the work a teacher has to do to make them just a little more comfortable, it is a drop in the bucket in comparison,” Pagano said. “It is the least we could do as employees of this institution to honor names and pronouns in the classroom setting. It is the least we could do.”

These policies and rights would have been implemented long ago if SWC had an inkling of care for the wellbeing of these groups and did not see them as diversity points for college statistics.

SWC is not doing enough to protect its LGBTQIA community, especially trans and nonbinary students. Appeasing the intolerant and allowing inclusion to be an option accomplishes nothing. It makes LGBTQIA students feel even more invisible and marginalized.

Trans and nonbinary students already live in a society where the president can legally classify them out of existence – they should not hear that at school. SWC needs to be the safe place for them when they have nowhere else to go.

There needs to be more policies that protect and represent trans and nonbinary people. There needs to be more open doors that tell trans and nonbinary people they are safe and accepted.

There needs to more accessibility to safer and hygienic bathrooms. There needs to be environments that do not force students to out themselves if they are not ready.

There cannot be tolerance for people, especially SWC faculty, who cannot respect a person’s identity.

There needs to be more from SWC. Trans and nonbinary students need to be given a sliver of hope that they are heard and recognized. SWC needs to take action and help before it’s too late.

They cannot wait for the death of a student and have blood on their hands to realize their negligence to this community.

But hey, at least LGBTQIA folk will get a float from Corona to show support during the Pride Parade.