VOL. CXVIII, NO. 142
DAILYBAROMETER.COM
THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2016
OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
‘Victory’ for transgender community
CREATIVE COMMONS
Oregon Department of Education publishes new guidelines for schools to support transgender students By Marcus Trinidad Associate News Editor
Laying out guidelines to promote inclusion and safety of transgender students, the Oregon Department of Education published a 15-page document that looks to provide support for the transgender community. The document allows advocates for schools to allow students to use their preferred names on official documents such as transcripts and diplomas, while not requiring any form of verification of someone’s gender or preferred name. Oregon State University currently provides an option for faculty and staff to use preferred names for work purposes, but a similar option is not yet available to students. According to Oregon law, it is required that the student’s legal name be used on official documents, but according to the new guidelines, it may be in the transgender student’s best interest to not be identified by their legal name in order to support, protect and avoid ‘outing’ a student. Outing refers to revealing a part of someone’s identity that the person would rather not have revealed, and it often can put the person in vulnerable and dangerous situations. Senate Bill 473 has recently been filed to the Oregon Legislature which would make it state law to allow students to use their preferred names on official documents such as diplomas and transcripts. It would also require public universities to record information regarding sexual orientation. Not tracking that information, according to the
assistant director of the Pride Center Cindy Konrad, makes it more difficult to support the transgender community and provide for their needs. She believes that the process of recognizing people’s preferred names and pronouns creates a welcoming environment. The new guidelines suggest that publishing personal information, such as the legal name of a transgender student with a new preferred name, could jeopardize that student’s safety. “Transgender and gender nonconforming students form a diverse community, and they may differ in how they present, including differences in comfort level with being out as transgender or gender nonconforming, their transition status, their age, and their gender expression,” the document reads. “School districts should adopt a flexible approach given that transgender students may not feel comfortable or safe being their authentic selves in all contexts.” According to a survey conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality in 2013, people who identify as transgender face high rates of violence. Seventy-eight percent of transgender people in K-12 reported being harassed, 35 percent were physically assaulted and 12 percent were sexually assaulted. In certain cases, the level of harassment was so bad that it forced 15 percent of those surveyed to drop out of school. Konrad said that the world can be a dangerous place for transgender youth when it should not have to be. She believes that the newly published documents is a big step in supporting the transgender
community. “I think anytime we find better ways to support our community, and those things become policy instead of relying on the kindness of each other to do things—I think that is a victory,” Konrad said. According to Chelsea Shay, a co-lead facilitator for Out N About, one of the biggest barriers to promoting the guidelines in schools is to provide more funding for teachers. The fact that the new documents are only guidelines means it is not required by law to provide the services outlined. According to Shay, there is not enough time in a day, to choose between teaching the required curriculum and to educate about LGBTQ+ history, black history and sex education. “What we need to do to enforce these rules of basic human respect is to support our school system and support our teachers,” Shay said. The amount of resources and training for teachers to effectively enforce these guidelines is not currently enough, according to Shay. The document published is one of many that have been released amid the controversy regarding the recent law passed in North Carolina on March 23, which requires people to go to restrooms that correspond with their assigned gender stated on their birth certificate. According to Tristen Shay, a co-lead facilitator for Out N About, a support group for transgender youth in Linn-Benton county, the violence against transgender people has increased in North Carolina
See Transgender Page 3
Correction:
Yesterday’s article titled ‘You’ve (lost) mail’ contained inaccurate information about OSU students’ and employees’ ONID accounts and what happens to them after leaving the university. Graduating students will have a year after graduation before their account is deactivated. The Daily Barometer apologizes for the mistake. For more information on ONID/Google accounts, turn to Page 3.
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