Arch602 2015 keddy clohessy

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Pushing Back Using Architecture to Rid Our Schools of Bullying and Discrimination

Carissa Clohessy

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Master of Architecture Thesis Carissa Clohessy Ball State University, Muncie Indiana 2015 Major Advisor: Karen Keddy, Ph.D.-Faculty, Department of Architecture, Ball State University Minor Advisor: Anthony “Tony” Costello, AIA- Irving Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Architecture, Ball State University Copyright © 2015 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

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I would like to thank my advisors Karen Keddy and Tony Costello for their continued support and counsel throughout this endeavor. Thank you to Crystal Nanney and Pamela Harwood for feedback that helped push my thesis to be more than I imagined it could be. I would like to thank my peers, especially Brooke Longcore and Bill Stark for giving me feedback at all hours of the night and day. Lastly, I would like to thank my fiancée Emily for her unconditional love and support throughout this long and difficult process.

None of this would have been possible without the inspiration I draw from the courage and resiliency of the LGBT community and LGBT allies.

“Hope will never be silent.”-Harvey Milk

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Abstract

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While gender non-conformity has become more visible, architecture and the gender-binary malefemale social organization of space have been slow to evolve to match the new spectrum-based thinking about gender. Anatomical sex, self-identified gender, gender expression, and gender attraction all exist on a spectrum yielding unlimited combinations that cannot be accurately defined by the binary model of gender.

Architectural elements are used to separate people, often with unnecessary levels of separation based on a socially-constructed idea of the need for privacy and gender segregation. The gender-binary model defines gender as a person’s assigned gender (a person’s declared sex at birth). The gender non-conforming population challenges this idea, separating expressed gender from anatomy, arguing that gender as a fluid, spectrum-based trait.

Historically, architecture has reinforced binary gender definitions by separating people into male and female spaces for different activities, the most common spaces which include restrooms and dressing area. This model has been challenged by the gender non-conforming community and the typical architectural response has been to add a third, gender-neutral or “other” option. However, does this provide a solution to the privacy issues that arise when the gender-binary social model is challenged, or does the separation become segregation? How does the built environment reinforce discrimination against the LGBT and gender nonconforming populations, and how can design change to be inclusive of all genders and gender expressions?

Looking at design from a different vantage point, how to do architectural elements of schools provide greater opportunity for bullying and how can architecture be used to minimize opportunities for bullying?

Discrimination breeds bullying. Bullying, rooted in ideas of discrimination, occurs when the opportunity to bully without consequence is present. Architectural elements can create spaces for bullying to be easily hidden from view.

Schools are a place where young people are exposed to diversity as they grow and find their identity and place in the world, so this building typology will be used to explore ideas of privacy, separation, and inclusion.

Middle school (grades 6-8) is the time when students experience the most severe bullying and are struggling to find their identities, and this approach to school design is most needed.

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Table of Contents 11 17 29 59 107 115 125 191

Project Proposal Literature Review Research Methodologies Precedent Studies Design Considerations The Site Design Process Appendix

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Project Proposal

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The architecture of a space can foster collaboration and the sharing of experience, as well as impose order and influence human behavior within the space. Hallways and corridors direct movement through a building. The scale and characteristics of a space can encourage the gathering of people. The acoustics of a space can encourage or discourage conversation. Restrooms separate men and women to provide privacy. But when does this separation, meant to provide safety and privacy to users, fail to provide a safe environment for gender non-conforming individuals? An individual appearing “too masculine” to fit the female stereotype is often the subject of staring, verbal harassment, and often exclusion from the women’s restroom, yet the same individual, appearing “too feminine” to fit the male stereotype, fears harassment and assault in the men’s restroom. A current architectural approach to this problem is to provide a single-occupant restroom for gender non-conforming individuals to use. This approach becomes an issue of segregation and discrimination when users are not given the choice to use the restroom that most closely matches each individual’s gender identity. Isolated hallways and entrapment spaces in schools allow for bullying to be easily hidden from view. Bullying and discrimination can have detrimental long-term effects on its victims. How can architecture reduce bullying and discrimination in schools?

Middle school (grades 6-8) is the time when bullying is most common in school. As students transition

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from elementary school to high school, they gain a large amount of independence in middle school. That independence comes at the same time that most students are beginning to understand gender, sexual orientation, and sexuality, which can be a challenging time of self-realization when facing pressure to conform to their peers. An architectural approach to reduce bullying and discrimination in schools is most appropriate and would have the most benefit at the middle school level.

In attempting to design for the reduction of bullying and discrimination, the guiding principle is the idea that any move made to make school safer for one group must not negatively impact any other user group. Bullying and discrimination in buildings affect a diverse range of users. The user group most affected by discrimination in the built environment is the gender non-conforming community, and the user group most affected by bullying in school is the LGBT community as a whole. By focusing on the most extreme cases of bullying and discrimination, design can be as inclusive of all users as possible.

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If you are a gender non-conforming individual, which bathroom do you choose?

People Stare and Talk about You

People Stare and Talk about You

People Yell the You Don’t Belong

People Yell the You Don’t Belong

People Treat You Like a Sexual Predator

Fear of Physical Assault

Possible Sexual Misconduct Charges

Fear of Sexual Assault/Rape

Segregation and Discrimination in our schools draw a line separating the somebodies and nobodies. Discrimination breeds bullying.

Schools are supposed to be safe places for children to learn, grow, and find 40% of Non-LGBT students are victims of bullying themselves, yet discrimination in the built environment forces 80% of LGBT students are victims of bullying

students into conformity.

Bullying is terrorizing students

who do not conform to the social norm.

are dying.

An inclusive school

LGBT teens who face rejection are eight times more likely to attempt suicide than their accepted peers

Kids

8X

design can eliminate the architectural elements that lend themselves to bullying and

Equal for ALL

discrimination, working toward an

Opportunity Students.

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Literature Review

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Gender and Sexual Orientation Traditionally, gender and sex have been viewed as interchangeable characteristics of a person.1 This is a result of “countless millennia [of] people [being] grouped as male or female based on their genitals and then socialized into masculine or feminine stereotypes.”2 This model is simply too limiting for how we have come to understand gender as a spectrum rather than a binary classification.3 The division of people into the gender classification of either male or female leads to a socially-constructed idea that those people who do not fit into the gender-binary (“the notion that there exist only two genders, each solidly fixed, biologically based and attached to various expectations for behavior, appearance, and feelings,”4 typically associated with male and female) model are not equal to, or are considered “less than” those of the cis-gender (“gender identity or expression aligns with those [traits] typically associated with the sex assigned to [the individual] at birth” based on anatomy5) population.

1 “Understanding Gender.” Genderspectrum.org. Accessed September 5, 2014 2 Rothblatt, Martine Aliana. The Apartheid of Sex: A Manifesto on the Freedom of Gender. New York: Crown Publishers, 1995., i 3 “Understanding Gender” 4 Baum, J., Brill, S., Brown, J., Delpercio, A., Kahn, E., Kenney, L. and Nicoll, A. (2014). Sup

porting and Caring for our Gender- Expansive Youth. The Human Rights Campaign Founda tion., 3 5 Ibid., 3

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Beyond the gender stereotypes associated with one’s sex, which is based on anatomy, the terms “gender” or “expressed gender” encompass a more diverse, “more nuanced, and ultimately truly authentic model of human gender.”6 Anyone who does not identify as cis-gender male or cis-gender female can be classified as a gendernonconforming person.7 Within the umbrella term of gender-nonconforming fall more specific gender terminologies and classifications such as transgender (gender identity is different from assigned sex, may or may not pursue hormone therapies and surgical procedures to “transition” to identified gender8), genderqueer (sometimes referred to as “queer”, a term used formerly used as a homophobic slur, the term has been reclaimed by the gender-nonconforming community and used to describe people whose gender expression and gender roles fall outside of the heteronormative ideas of gender9), and many more words used by gender-nonconforming people to describe each self-identity.

Like gender, sexual orientation also exists on a spectrum. “LGBT”, standing for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender,” is the commonly used acronym in the United States to refer to all people who are considered to be gender-nonconforming or claim a sexual orientation other than heterosexual.10 “LGBT” can include a wider range of labels for sexual orientation and gender identify than the four in the acronym itself (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) including asexual (feels no sexual attraction), pansexual (sexual attraction is equal among all gender expression or orientation is considered 6 Ibid.

7 Ibid.

8 “Know Your Rights: A Guide for Trans and Gender Nonconforming Students.” Aclu.org. May 8, 2012. Accessed September 11, 2014., 5 9 “LGBT Terms and Definitions.” Internationalspectrum.umich.edu. Accessed October 31, 2014.

10 Ibid.

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genderless), and questioning sexual orientation.11 The LGBT community is diverse in gender identity and sexual orientation, but are bound together by the shared experience of minority status.

Bullying “Bullying is generally defined as behavior that can range from name-calling, threats, and social exclusion to serious criminal acts of libel and repeated physical attacks.”12 Bullying affects the physical and mental wellbeing of both the victims and those around the victims, creating a negative environment that not only impedes academic achievement at school, and can have permanent health consequences.13 For the most part, bullying of LGBT students stems from the bully’s “discomfort with students who do not conform to traditional gender roles.”14 LGBT students are disproportionately victims of bullying.

According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), “LGBT youth are more than two times as likely as nonLGBT youth to say they have been verbally harassed and called names at school”15 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that

80% of LGBT students experience verbal bullying, 40% experience physical bullying, and 20% are victims of physical assault, all while at school.16 21% of LGBT youth describe bullying as the most important problem they face on a daily basis, while less than 1% of non-LGBT youth call bullying the most

11 Ibid.

12 Biegel, Stuart. The Right to Be Out: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in America’s

Public Schools. Minneapolis, Minn.: University of Minnesota Press, 2010., 11 13 “National Center for Transgender Equality: Home.” National Center for Transgender Equality.

Accessed September 13, 2014.

14 Biegel, Stuart. The Right to Be Out., 117-118 15 Growing Up LGBT in America. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation., 4 16 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. March 25, 2014. Accessed September 16, 2014.

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important problem in their lives.17 In a survey conducted by the HRC, youth participants were “asked to describe the most important problem facing their lives right now.”

The top three answers for LGBT participants were “Nonaccepting families (26%),” “School/bullying problems (21%),” and “fear or being out or open (18%).” For nonLGBT participants, issues of bullying and discrimination were not found among the top responses, which included “classes/exams/grades (25%),” “college/career (14%),” and “financial pressures related to college or job (11%).”18 In addition to the harm that bullying causes, the stress it causes prevents the victims from being able to focus on their school work equally to those who are not victims of bullying.

The line separating bullying, harassment, and other forms of discrimination is blurred as discrimination reinforces the idea that someone is not equal to someone else.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), under the United States Constitution and Title IX, “[p] ublic schools are required to protect all students from harassment.”19 Despite the law banning discrimination in schools, schools have a long way to go in eliminating discrimination based on gender expression. Derogatory terms such as “dyke,” “faggot,” “he-she,” “tranny,” and “it” are used far too often by both students and faculty, even when not directed at another student, are just as offensive as racial slurs are to ethnic minorities.20 In addition to the first and fourteenth amendments of the U.S. Constitution and Title IX, derogatory language directed toward LGBT or gender-non-conforming students has been ruled as harassment in the cases of Flores v. Morgan Hill Unified School District (2003) and Ramirez v. Los Angeles Unified School District (2004).21 17 Growing Up LGBT in America, 14 18 Growing Up LGBT in America, 14 19 “Know Your Rights: A Guide for Trans and Gender Nonconforming Students.”, 3 20 “Fact Sheet: Transgender & Gender Nonconforming Youth In School.” SRLP Sylvia Rivera Law Project. Accessed September 13, 2014.

21 Biegel, Stuart. The Right to Be Out.,36-39

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Even with the law being abundantly clear on the issue of derogatory language in schools, 54% of LGBT students report being the target of anti-LGBT slurs, with 31% of students reporting that they are the targets of anti-LGBT slurs “often” or “frequently” at school.22 Excluding LGBT or gender-non-conforming students from school activities or holding them to a different set of standards than non-LGBT students is also discrimination and can be considered bullying. 40% of gender-nonconforming youth report that they are excluded by their peers “frequently” or “often.”23 The 1980 ruling in the case of Fricke v. Lynch states that schools cannot prevent a student from bringing a date of the same sex to a school dance such as prom on the basis of sex or sexual orientation.24 A school also cannot, under the First Amendment, enforce a gender-specific dress code or prevent a student from wearing attire matching that student’s self-identified, expressed gender, even if that expression does not match the student’s assigned sex at birth.25 Even though a court ruled in 1980 that schools cannot discriminate against LGBT or gendernon-conforming students when it comes to participating in prom and other school functions, it is not uncommon for schools to attempt to ban same-sex couples and gender-non-conforming students from events or threaten to cancel events if an LGBT student tries to participate.26 In 2010, a Mississippi high school threatened to cancel prom after a female student tried to bring her girlfriend as her date. The student sued the school and a federal court ruled that the school violated the student’s First Amendment right of Freedom of Expression.27 In 2013, 22 Growing Up LGBT in America, 7,17 23 Baum, J.,et.al. Supporting and Caring for our Gender-Expansive Youth. 10 24 Biegel, Stuart. The Right to Be Out., 25-28 25 “Dress Codes.” LambdaLegal.org. Accessed September 5, 2014.

26 “Students: Know Your Rights.” Splcenter.org. Accessed September 13, 2014.

27 Ibid.

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the Southern Poverty Law Center represented a male student whose Missouri high school refused to allow him to bring his boyfriend to prom.28 Also in 2013, teachers, students, and parents in Sullivan, Indiana planned a separate, “traditional prom” to prevent LGBT and gender-non-conforming students from attending prom with the rest of the student population.29 It is discrimination when schools restrict access to information and resources based on gender identity or sexual orientation. Based on the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Board of Education v. Pico, schools removing or restricting access to information based on prejudice is a violation of the First Amendment.30 Under the Equal Access Act, a school may not block websites from school computers simply because a person disagrees with the content. A school can still block “inappropriate” material and websites, as long as the same standards are used across the board to determine what is appropriate. A school can block websites of a sexual nature, but under the Equal Access Act, cannot block websites that provide information and support to LGBT students.31 In its public school curriculum, the state of Arizona prohibits any study that “promotes a homosexual lifestyle,” including the study of LGBT figures in history in a positive way or the study of LGBT rights movement.32 In some states, including Texas and Alabama, state curriculum requires sex education courses to present homosexuality in a negative way and prohibits providing students information pertaining to healthy non-heterosexual relationships.33 As students learn and grow, their concept of self-identity and their roles in the world are shaped in part by the people and worldviews around them. Prolonged exposure to anti-LGBT rhetoric can have a detrimental effect on a

28 “SPLC Demands Missouri High School End Policy Banning Same-sex Couples from Prom.”

Splcenter.org. Accessed October 22, 2014 29 “Some Indiana Parents, Teacher Want ‘traditional Prom’ to Ban Gays, Lesbians .” NY Daily News. Accessed October 22, 2014.

30 Biegel, Stuart. The Right to Be Out., 81 31 “Students: Know Your Rights.” Splcenter.org. Accessed September 13, 2014.

32 Biegel, Stuart. The Right to Be Out., 83 33 Ibid.

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student’s wellbeing.34 If a school teaches only negative things about LGBT people, how does that teaching affect a middle school student coming to terms with his or her sexual orientation and gender identity?35

When do negative messages cross the line between free speech and bullying?

Bullying can have serious consequences for an entire school or community, far beyond the students directly involved in bullying. The two student shooters in the Columbine shooting had both been bullied leading up to the event, including being called “gay”, “homo”, and other anti-LGBT slurs. While both shooters were cisgender, heterosexual males, the stigma behind the antiLBGT slurs, along with other forms of bullying led to the massacre where 15 people died and dozens more were injured.36

LGBT students who face “high levels of rejection” are “more than 8 times as likely to have attempted suicide” than their accepted LGBT peers.37 Violence, murder, and suicide can have devastating effects on entire communities, which makes bullying a problem that reaches beyond the walls of the school.38

Current Architecture Approaches No school is designed with the goal of discrimination or creating opportunity for bullying, but both are common if inclusive design is not a goal from initial design inception.

Little has been studied about the relationship between 34 Sheard, Sarah. “LGBT People Twice as Likely to Suffer From Chronic Mental Health Prob lems.” Varsity, September 11, 2014. Accessed September 11, 2014.

35 Biegel, Stuart. The Right to Be Out., 112 36 Ibid.,117 37 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

38 Biegel, Stuart. The Right to Be Out., 116/117

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bullying and the physical space in which it occurs, but discrimination through architecture is common in public schools in the lack of adequate, safe spaces for all students..

The vast majority of school bathrooms are segregated by sex.39 While this notion of sex segregation in the name of privacy is common in western culture, it may not be necessary to provide for safety and privacy. It is not uncommon to find public restrooms shared by the sexes in eastern cultures, including countries like China and India.40

“While public restrooms have reflected discrimination according to gender, class, race, physical ability, and sexual orientation, only race and physical ability have been addressed through federal legislation in the United States….Restrooms still remain common sites of gender discrimination.”41 It is far too common that buildings provide inadequate and disproportionally few bathroom facilities for women compared to their male counterparts.42 The discrimination inherently built into the gender-binary segregation of public restrooms produces spaces that can be uncomfortable for women and hostile for people who do not fit into the genderbinary classification system.

Derogatory, homophobic 39 Brown, Elizabeth Nolan. “Why Aren’t There More Unisex Bathrooms?.” Reason 46, no. 3 (July 2014): 68-69. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed September 6, 2014).

40 Ibid.

41 Anthony, Kathryn H., and Meghan Dufresne. “Potty Privileging in Perspective.” In Ladies and Gents: Public Toilets and Gender, 50. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2009., 50 42 Anthony, K. H., and M. Dufresne. “Potty Parity in Perspective: Gender and Family Issues

in Planning and Designing Public Restrooms.” Journal of Planning Literature, 2007, 267-94.

Accessed September 18, 2014. jpl.sagepub.com., 271

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graffiti is often found on the stalls, walls, and doors of public restrooms.43 Because of its private nature, restrooms are opportune places for violent hate crimes against members of the LGBT community.44 According to Lambda Legal, the largest legal organization in the United States representing the LGBT equal rights movement,45 “everyone should use the restroom that matches their gender identity, regardless of whether they are making a gender transition or appear gender-nonconforming.”46 Even in places that have legal protections in place to ensure that transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals have the right to use the bathroom aligning with gender identity, restrooms and locker rooms can become intimidating and uncomfortable if other users discriminate or have preconceived definitions of gender that have been reinforced by the segregation of gender in public facilities.47 One common approach to providing safe restrooms is to allow gender-nonconforming people to use a single-occupant unisex restrooms.48 This solution can provide an increased sense of privacy, with can benefit both LGBT people and anyone else desiring additional privacy for any reason.49 This architectural approach becomes a form of discrimination when a single-occupant unisex restroom is the only option for a gender-nonconforming person if the person does not have the option of using the restroom that aligns with gender identity.50,51 This approach separates gender-nonconforming individuals out from their peers, labeling them as “different”, as “others”, and is a form of “outing” when an individual’s gender-nonconforming status may not be public knowledge.

Another obstacle to the wide-spread use of single-occupant unisex restrooms in solving issues of segregation and discrimination is state and local building codes. Most building codes require buildings with more than one singleoccupant restroom to designate and label the restrooms for 43 Ibid., 270 44 Ibid.

45 “About Us.” Lambda Legal. Accessed October 26, 2014.

46 “Equal Access to Public Restrooms.” Lambdalegal.org. Accessed September 5, 2014.

47 “Know Your Rights,” Lambdalegal.org. Accessed September 5, 2014.

48 “Equal Access to Public Restrooms.”

49 “Best Practices for Serving Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Students in Schools.”

Masstpc.org. November 1, 2012. Accessed September 2, 2014., 7 50 Ibid.

51 “Equal Access to Public Restrooms.”

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men and women.52 Only a few areas in the country have laws and building code that allows for gender-neutral restrooms to be the only option in a building.53 In most cases under the current building codes, if gender-neutral restrooms are to be offered in a building, they must be in addition to the sexsegregated restrooms already required.

Panopticism is an architectural idea that has been integrated into the design of school design to influence student behavior.54 The concept of panopticism, derived from the ideas of surveillance in a panopticon prison, is the notion that the possibility that a person could be under surveillance at any time serves as a deterrent to committing wrongful acts.55 In schools, the threat of being caught bullying could reduce the bullying taking place. Architecture that allows students to see and be see influences student behavior by making students feel safer and preventing students from making bad choices.56 At the same time, surveillance can cross a line and have a negative impact on the safety and comfort of a space.

Surveillance can move beyond protecting users to giving users of a space the feeling that they are being watched and add to the anxiety that may be experienced in a space.57

52 Brown, Elizabeth Nolan. “Why Aren’t There More Unisex Bathrooms?.” Reason 46, no. 3 (July 2014): 68-69. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed September 6, 2014).

53 Ibid.

54 Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Pantheon Books, 1977., 207 55 Ibid., 195-198 56 “The Space of the School as a Changing Educational Tool.” In Educational Dimensions of School Buildings, edited by Jan Bengtsson. Frankfurt Germany: Peter Lang GmbH, 2011 .,38-39 57 Burke, Catherine, and Ian Grosvenor. School. London: Reaktion Books, 2008., 160-161

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Research Methodologies

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In order to gain a better understanding of how and where bullying occurs in schools, interviews were conducted with public school teachers and staff in California, Texas, and Indiana as a sample group, with the responses being used to guide the development of an anonymous survey to be sent out to a wider pool of teachers. In speaking with teachers, it became clear that many of the participants were hesitant to talk about bullying and how it is handled in school. Under the condition of anonymity, participants were more willing to talk about bullying in the classroom. Interviews were conducted in person at the respondent’s school.

Site visits were conducted to study the architectural elements of schools that may or may not contribute to bullying. The photo policy at all schools visited required that no students be captured in photographs (if a child is not the focal point and in the background and a photo not including children is not possible, such as exterior spaces of a school, it is acceptable to “blur the students beyond recognition”). Most schools visited requested that photo documentation wait until after school hours when the majority of students are out of the building out of concern for the privacy of the students.

A site visit was also conducted at the SF LGBT Community Center in San Francisco to study how a space that is specifically meant to be inclusive of the LGBT and gender-non-conforming populations achieves the goal of welcoming all people through architecture.

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Similarly to the photo policy at the schools visited, the SF LGBT Community Center requested that any photos taken not include people to respect the privacy of the patrons of the center. Additionally, access was restricted to the first floor of the building. The upper floors are used for personal and legal counseling services, and while services are available to the public free of charge, access to those parts of the building is restricted for the privacy of the users of those services.

In addition to the information collected through site visits, two surveys were conducted using the online survey host SurveyMonkey, and those surveys were distributed to participants using social media.

As part of attempting to fully immerse myself in the research, I completed two four-hour Safe Zone training sessions, completing the requirements to become a Safe Zone and Trans Safe Zone trained ally and advocate at Ball State University, a certification that is transferrable to most Safe Zone participant organizations in the United States.

Additionally, I had the opportunity to attend a lecture by transgender actress and activist Laverne Cox, where she spoke about her experience as a transgender woman and the future outlook for the transgender community.

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Survey about Experiences with Bullying

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Two surveys were conducted to gather information about bullying in schools and bullying in the LGBT and gendernon-conforming communities. Surveys were anonymous and conducted using an online survey format through SurveyMonkey, and distributed using Facebook, which allowed for respondents to share the survey with other potential respondents, allowing for a larger pool of data collection. Surveys rely mostly on qualitative, open-ended, and multiple response matrix questions to allow for respondents to express their thoughts and experiences freely, honestly, and without the restrictions of multiple choice options and rating scales. Responses from the teacher and staff interviews were analyzed to inform question wording and clarity for the surveys, as well as the need for anonymity in the survey. The first survey was designed to learn of individuals’ experiences with bullying beyond the statistics. The demographic questions pertaining to gender and sexual orientation were open-ended to allow respondents to give the most accurate response without forcing respondents to try to fit into predetermined boxes. Because of the shame often associated with being the victim of bullying, respondents may be hesitant to admit experiences with bullying. By keeping the survey anonymous and building up to questions about bullying by starting with questions about feeling uneasy or unsafe, the hope was to collect the most honest results possible.

Gender and sexual orientation minorities made up a larger percentage of survey respondents than is proportional with the percentage of the population identifying as a gender and sexual orientation minorities. One possible explanation for this is that LGBT respondents were more willing to take the survey because bullying disproportionately affects the LGBT community. Survey results were analyzed comparing LGBT respondents (LGBT status was determined based on responses to the demographic questions stating anything other than a binary gender or heterosexual orientation) and nonLGBT respondents, and as a collective group.

2/10/2015

[SURVEY PREVIEW MODE] Experiences with Bullying in School Survey

Experiences with Bullying in School * 1. What is your gender?

* 2. How do you define your sexual orientation?

3. When did you finish high school?

2010­2014 2005­2009 2000­2004 1990­1999 1980­1989 1970­1979 Before 1970

Powered by SurveyMonkey Check out our sample surveys and create your own now!

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2/10/2015

[SURVEY PREVIEW MODE] Experiences with Bullying in School Survey

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Experiences with Bullying in School * 4. Did you ever feel unsafe or uncomfortable in school?

No, I never felt unsafe

Yes, I felt unsafe occasionally

Yes, I felt unsafe often

* 5. Where did you feel unsafe or uneasy? (Select all that apply) Classroom Hallway Cafeteria Library Common Space/Gathering Space Gymnasium Locker Room Restroom Parking Lot Athletic Fields/Playground Outdoor Areas (Non­Athletic) Bus I never felt unsafe or uncomfortable

* 6. Why did you feel unsafe or uncomfortable in the place(s) selected above?

Powered by SurveyMonkey Check out our sample surveys and create your own now!

2/10/2015

[SURVEY PREVIEW MODE] Experiences with Bullying in School Survey

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Experiences with Bullying in School * 7. Where did you experience or witness the following? (Select all that apply)

Common I did not Locker Gymnasium/Athletic Space/Gathering Parking experience/witness Classroom Hallway Cafeteria Restroom Room Field Playground Outdoors Bus Space Lot this

Name Calling Derogatory Language (not directed at an individual, this includes swear words, racial and homophobic slurs, etc.)

Sexual Comments Exclusion by Peers Verbal Harassment Pushing/Shoving Verbal Threats Physical Threats Physical Assault

* 8. Which best describes the environment where each type of bullying occurred?

Isolated Space, No one saw the incident

Semi­Isolated, A few people saw the incident

Populated Space, a dozen people saw the incident

Crowded Space, many people saw the incident

Name Calling Derogatory Language (not directed at an individual, this includes swear words, racial and homophobic slurs, etc.)

Sexual Comments Exclusion by Peers Verbal Harassment Pushing/Shoving Verbal Threats Physical Threats Physical Assault

Powered by SurveyMonkey Check out our sample surveys and create your own now!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/r/?sm=3fIo2lXz4OFdMA3hKjfccjucK67CEO%2b5%2fgqEpCnvvCo%2fOL98c0B22pOjZ3SVwBkEWlFRX1V2EziImzSZAjQ5zj…

1/1

Did you ever feel unsafe or uncomfortable in school?

Respondents

Yes, I felf Unsafe Often

No, I Never felt Unsafe

9%

LGBT

18%

73%

Yes, I felf Unsafe Occasionally

Respondents

Non-LGBT

Yes, I felf Unsafe Often 4%

Yes, I felf Unsafe Occasionally

38% 58%

No, I Never felt Unsafe

3

39

4

Respondents Report Hearing Derogatory Racial and Homophobic Slurs at School

“Other students would tease and engage in inappropriate accusations regarding sexual preference, many of them implying large negativity to someone who is homosexual.”

-Survey Respondent

“Mainly they were places that I felt unwelcome because I didn't adhere to the traditional male archetype.”

-Survey Respondent

34% of Respondents Felt Unsafe in the HALLWAY

“My best friend is gay and came out when we were in freshmen. People asked intimate questions and made assumptions about me. In gym, there was a boy who bullied me.”

-Survey Respondent 31% of Respondents Felt Unsafe in the LOCKER ROOM

42%

of

Survey

Respondents

Witnessded

PHYSICAL ASSAULT* in the school

HALLWAY *More Severe than Pushing/Shoving

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Teacher Survey

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A survey for teachers was created to gain a better understanding of what teachers see in the classroom and throughout the school in terms of bullying. The hope was to gain an understanding of what is being done to deal with and prevent bullying, and why bullying is so common in schools. The survey was distributed to teachers via Facebook, and the respondents were asked to share the survey with other teachers via Facebook and email.

The responses confirmed what previous research and the other survey had shown were the places where bullying was most common. The survey responses state that bullying is a less severe problem than statistics suggest, which suggests that respondents were either less aware of bullying that is taking place, or respondents are less willing to admit that bullying is occurring. If only a few respondents had reported low rates of bullying, it could be reasonable to assume that the schools where those respondents teach do a good job in preventing bullying, but this trend reached across all respondents from different backgrounds, school types, grade levels, and parts of the country.

Some respondents were able to provide insights as to why bullying is occurring, but very little to suggest that teachers and/or schools are making serious efforts to deal with/prevent bullying or that schools understand the seriousness of the problem.

2/10/2015

[SURVEY PREVIEW MODE] Bullying in Schools Survey for Teachers

Bullying in Schools Survey for Teachers * 1. What grade and/or subject do you teach?

* 2. Which best describes the school where you teach? (select 1) small rural school large rural school small suburban school large suburban school small urban school large urban school Other (please specify)

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[SURVEY PREVIEW MODE] Bullying in Schools Survey for Teachers

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Bullying in Schools Survey for Teachers * 3. Does bullying occur in the school where you teach?

No, bullying does not occur Yes, bullying occurs occasionally Yes, bullying occurs frequently

* 4. Where does the following occur? (Select all that apply)

Common I did not Locker Gymnasium/Athletic Space/Gathering experience/witness Classroom Hallway Cafeteria Restroom Room Field Playground Outdoors Bus Space this

Name Calling Derogatory Language (not directed at an individual, this includes swear words, racial and homophobic slurs, etc.)

Sexual Comments Exclusion by Peers Verbal Harassment Pushing/Shoving Verbal Threats Physical Threats Physical Assault

* 5. Why do you think bullying occurs in the places you selected above?

* 6. How do you (or the school) deal with bullying?

7. How can bullying be prevented?

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of teachers surveyed say that “bullying occurs occasionally

I’m one of those teachers that are like if I see it happening I’m making a big deal about it because I don’t want it to happen ever again. And I know it may be easier to be like oh I didn’t see it

The biggest problem with bullying in the classroom is verbal.

HALLWAY

90%

45 Percentage of teachers surveyed that observed bullying in the Verbal Harassment

Pushing/Shoving

Verbal Threats

There are many times when students will come up to us on the playground and tell us that something happened, so and so called them a name, someone was picking on them, but all we can do is question both of the children because really we have no way of officially knowing what happened because we didn’t directly see or hear it.

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Safe Zone Training

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Safe Zone and Trans Safe Zone programs train individuals to be allies and advocates for the LGBT community and provide safe spaces of healing, learning, and self-discovery. Each program involves a four-hour training session and a commitment to serve as an ally and provide a safe, judgment-free space for LGBT individuals in need. The definition of “space” or “zone” is used very loosely be anything a space needs to be.

It was suggested that faculty members designate their offices as safe zones, teachers designate classrooms as safe zones, and students can treat any space as a safe zone as needed.

Safe Zone training focuses on diversity and acceptance of the LGBT community, educating participants about the psychological, social and legal challenges that LGBT people often face so that participants can provide safe, judgment-free spaces for LGBT individuals who need a safe place to talk or study without fear of bullying and harassment. Safe Zone training uses group discussion and role-playing exercises to teach participants about issues faced by LGBT individuals and straight, cis-gender privilege. Participants are encouraged to share their experiences and ask questions in a safe environment where all discussions that take place remain confidential.

While all members of the LGBT community face similar challenges, the transgender and gender-nonconforming population faces additional challenges, which is why the Safe Zone program has a second training course focused on those challenges.

At the end of the training, participants are given Safe Zone stickers to place on doors to designate safe zones, as well as Safe Zone pins to attach to backpacks to designate an individual as a mobile Safe Zone.

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SafeZone Logo Stickers designate completion of SafeZone Training

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Laverne Cox Lecture

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On February 23, 2015, African-American, transgender actress and activist Laverne Cox gave a lecture at Ball State University as part of the university’s Excellence in Leadership program’s lecture series. She spoke for an hour on her journey to womanhood and her experiences with gender, sexual orientation, race, and class.

Cox, a prominent pioneer in the transgender community is the first transgender woman to be featured on the cover of TIME Magazine, the first transgender women to be nominated for an Emmy Award for her role in the popular Netflix series Orange is the New Black, and the first transgender woman to produce and star in her own series, TRANSform Me. Cox spoke for approximately an hour, and then answered questions from the audience for approximately twenty minutes. In that question and answer session, I had the opportunity to ask: “based on your experiences with bullying [which she spoke about during her lecture], what can we do to make our school safe spaces for everyone?” She responded by saying: I think part of it is having some public policy in place some anti-bullying legislation so there’s some kind of policy that helps. But then obviously we know that just because there’s a policy or there’s a law, it does not mean that the hearts and minds of people have been changed. At the end of the day,

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we have to begin to imagine a gender revolution where we begin to really think differently, and it’s a tall order. It’s about beginning to imaging a world beyond the binary model, a world that has 55 genders according to Facebook, and more so that it’s really about individuals defining themselves on their own terms, and there not being judgments and repercussions because of that. And then having teachers that are really educated around this to support kids who are experiencing issues so they can go to them, having parents to go to so there is accountability when bullying does happen.

Photos Taken at Laverne Cox lecture at Emens Auditorium, Muncie, IN, February 23, 2015

of LGBT It is my belief that 67% Homicides in 2013 were of Transgender one of the biggest Women obstacles facing the transgender 41% of Transgender community are People Report Attepmting obstacles which Suicide disavow our identity, points of Only 1% of view that bully and the non-LGBT Population Report only recognize a Attepmting Suicide gender we were assigned at birth, of points of view that 16% Transgender Women in the States no matter what I do United are Incarcerated I will never be enough of a woman, and yet, ain’t I a Only 1% of the non-LGBT Population in woman? the United

-Laverne Cox

States are Incarcerated

At the end of the day, we have to begin to imagine a gender revolution where we begin to really think differently, and it’s a tall order. It’s about beginning to imagine a world beyond the binary model... and more so that it’s really about individuals defining themselves on their own terms, and there not being judgments and repercussions because of that.

-Laverne Cox

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Justice is what love looks like in public.

Trans and gender-nonconforming people could use some justice tonight, some love today.

Poor and working people could use some justice, some love today.

People of color could use some justice, some love today.

People with disabilities can use some justice, some love today.

-Laverne Cox,

Actress/Transgender Activist

In a speach at Ball State University, 2015

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“78% of students grades K through 8 who express a transgender or gender non-conforming identity experience harassment or bullying.�

-Laverne Cox

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Precedent Studies

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Site Visits

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Malcolm X Elementary Berkeley, California

Recognized by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation for efforts in bullying prevention, Malcolm X Elementary in Berkeley, California uses architecture to aid in stopping bullying and discrimination before children develop the prejudices that contribute to chronic bullying. Large, open hallways allow for plenty of space to move throughout the building without hiding places that tend to be ideal for bullying. The acoustic quality of the hallways allows sound to carry down the hall, allowing teachers to hear everything students say. Classroom doors remain open whenever possible so that teachers can observe students in the hallway and in other classrooms.

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Signage is used frequently to communicate rules and expectations of behavior at Malcolm X Elementary. Signs are posted in all students areas to remind students of rules and expectations of behavior. Areas where rules were posted include hallways, stairwells, cafeteria, restrooms, outdoor spaces, and the library. Signs are also used to designate “safe zones” within the school.

Teachers and staff with a “Safe Zone” sign outside of his or her room have participated in diversity and sensitivity training, and designated rooms become safe, judgmentfree spaces for students. By making all building users aware of rules and expectations through the use of signs, it makes it easier to identify people who are breaking the rules. Most rules are put in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of students, and violation of those rules can harm students and lead to bullying.

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Malcolm X Elementary attributes much of the success in preventing bullying to the amount of human surveillance that is possible in and around the building. By having open, visible spaces with few sightline obstructions, students are less likely to bully their peers. The thought that a students might be seen breaking the rules is often enough to deter students from making bad decisions.

Classroom doors are left open to allow surveillance of the hallway. Library bookshelves are short enough for adults to see students at all times. Playground and landscape elements are designed for teachers to have full visibility of all students from strategic vantage points.

Outdoor spaces are visible from classrooms, hallways, stairwells, and the cafeteria.

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Oleson Elementary School Houston, Texas

Oleson Elementary School in Houston, Texas, uses architectural elements and supervision by school personnel to address bullying. Classroom walls are open to the hallway above eye level, which allows teachers to hear activity in the hallways and nearby classrooms while eliminating the visual distraction of activity in the hallway.

The openings at the top of the wall and the grates lower in the wall allow teachers to hear activity in the hall, which can become a distraction to students. Some doors are left open to allow for visual access to the hallway, but activity in the hallway is mostly hidden from view, which does create opportunity for bullying. The long hallways branch off of a central main corridor, and terminate with emergency exits, creating the potential for entrapment spots at the end of the corridors.

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Some signage is present to assist with way-finding and communicate expectations of behavior, but it could be more effective. Signage is difficult to read and often unclear at a quick glance. Responding to the needs of the student population, which is mostly Hispanic, some signage, such as signs instructing students what to do if they are bullied, are provided in both English and Spanish. Way-finding can be confusing to someone new to the school. Much of the signage is located above adult eyelevel, making the signage inaccessible to young children. Signs marking classrooms and restrooms are small signs mounted to the top of the door frame, making them difficult for students to see and read.

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Due to rapid growth in student population, Oleson Elementary has seen the addition of “temporary� pre-fabricated trailer-style buildings to serve as additional classrooms. These buildings house the bilingual classrooms and some administrative and support functions. Bilingual classes are architecturally segregated from the rest of the school for part of the school day for logistical reasons, but it is unclear what impact that segregation has on students. The addition of temporary buildings also creates potential entrapment areas, hidden from teacher view, creating opportune places for bullying to occur. According to one third-grade teacher, because of the path and number of turns in the path from the classroom to the gym, which is housed in a separate building from the main school building, it is difficult to watch all students because the back of the line becomes temporarily hidden around corners, and name-calling and other forms of bullying occur.

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Muncie Central High School Muncie, Indiana

Muncie Central High School in Muncie, Indiana, has architectural elements that lend themselves to bullying and architectural elements that reduce opportunity for bullying. As a large, urban high school, Muncie Central has a diverse student population with a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds. Many if the shared gathering spaces, such as the cafeteria and the student commons, are large, open spaces allowing for teachers to see everything happening in a space and reducing the places where bullying can be hidden. However, the size of spaces can be problematic when a space becomes too large that students disappear in the crowd, and bullying occurs in plain sight.

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Large open spaces like the student commons can be safe places if there is nowhere for bullying to be concealed. Poorly-lit nooks and corners can become ideal places for bullying to occur. In large crowds, a victim of bullying can easily become lost in the sea of people, where no student takes responsibility to stand up to a bully, assuming someone else will do it.

In contrast to the highly-visible spaces, Muncie Central also contains a large number of isolated corridors that are not heavily traveled and not visible from adjoining spaces. The isolated nature of these corridors creates an unsafe environment for students who might be the target of bullying.

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Located in one of the hallways, the “Bully Box� allows students to anonymously report bullying in writing. It is unclear how effective this is in dealing with bullying.

Muncie Central discriminates against female students when it comes to locker rooms in the school. The school provides two locker rooms for male students and one locker room for female students. While the female locker room was under construction during the 2006-2007 academic year, female students were forced to change in the laundry room and female restroom down the hall, while boys had full use of both male locker rooms.

At least one of the female restrooms lacked appropriate privacy dividers, an issue observed as early as 2006, and as of 2014 had not been fixed. This is an architectural example of the school failing to provide for the privacy needs of its students. The only single-occupant restroom available for students who feel unsafe using the gendersegregated restrooms is located within the nurse’s office, requiring permission from the nurse to use.

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The entry sequence for the main entrance of Muncie Central uses architectural elements to funnel people through one central path that is visible from the street and from the student commons through large glazed walls. Students who drive park in two parking lots on the side of the building and use side entrances. School buses and public buses drop students off at the main entrance. Most landscaping is well-maintained to allow for visibility, reducing the number of hidden places for bullying to occur.

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San Francisco LGBT Center San Francisco, California

Located on one of the most traveled streets in San Francisco, the San Francisco LGBT Center is a safe and welcoming place for LGBT individuals to get job training, legal counsel, meet other LGBT individuals, and get involved in the community. The LGBT Center serves both adult and teen populations. The glass faรงade allows for people to see into the mail level of the LGBT Center while allowing visitors to see out to the street, creating an open, safe environment. The LGBT Center is located on Market Street, the major artery for public transportation services in and out of the city.

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In addition to clear signage marking the building, the exterior of the LGBT Center is accented with rainbow flags, using the rainbow, a universal symbol of the LGBT community, to indicate that the LGBT Center is a safe, inclusive space. The main floor of the LGBT Center uses large open spaces to create a safe, welcoming environment with minimal entrapment spaces. Partitions are used to separate spaces for privacy and to protect the anonymity of visitors to the center. Because the LGBT Center serves teens, privacy is an important issue in creating a safe open environment. The upper floors of the building are used for event/meeting spaces and counseling areas for legal and emotional counseling.

Once again, privacy is important, and visitors who are allowed to move freely on the main floor are allowed upstairs for meetings/appointments, many of which are walk-in appointments, but may not wander freely to protect the privacy of other visitors.

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Precedents

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Harvey Milk High School New York, New York

Harvey Milk High School is a small, public, transfer school serving students who have not been successful at other New York City public schools because of bullying and lack of acceptance. While Harvey Milk High School focuses on serving an LGBT student population, the school is open to all students and focuses on a culture of acceptance and diversity. The controversy surrounding Harvey Milk High School is that it perpetuates a social separation of students be providing a separate school for LGBT students, which is viewed by many as a step backward toward Jim Crow Era segregation.

1. Accessed December 9, 2014. http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/02/M586/AboutUs/Overview/Our Mission.htm.

2. “The Harvey Milk School Has No Right to Exist. Discuss.� NYMag.com. Accessed December 9, 2014. http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/ features/10970/.

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Colin Powell Middle School Matterson, Illinois Colin Powell Middle School serves 1000 students in grades 6 through 8 in the south Chicago suburb of Matterson. Driving forces in the design include energy efficiency, environmental sensitivity, and building openness. Daylighting is maximized both for the decrease in lighting needs and the benefit of the students.

“Colin Powll Middle School.� ArchDaily. Accessed February 9, 2015. http://www.archdaily.com/172245/colin-powell-middle-school-legat/.

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The three V-shaped wings branching off the main corridor to the west house the main classrooms for the three grades, grouping the classes for each grade into small communities. The openness in plan and the amount of glazing utilized for daylighting allow people to see from one space into other spaces without becoming distractions. This allows for informal surveillance, which prevents bullying and increases the sense of security.

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Silverland Middle School Fernley, Nevada Designed with local input through a series of local design charrettes, Silverland Middle School provides opportunities for both academic and social development.

An enclosed courtyard provides a safe, controlled, appropriately sized environment for student interaction and education in the natural environment. Large sections of glazing in the corridors surrounding the courtyard allow students to see out into the courtyard and see into the building, reducing bullying through informal surveillance.

“Silverland Middle School / Tate Snyder Kimsey.� ArchDaily. August 26, 2011. Accessed February 9, 2015. http://www.archdaily.com/163765/ silverland-middle-school-tate-snyder-kimsey/.

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Silverland Middle School utilizes daylighting to reduce energy needs and improve academic performance in students. The classrooms and corridors have glazing that allows indirect light to enter the building, and the windows between the corridor and the classrooms allow for light from the corridor to enter the classroom.

In the classroom areas, Silverland Middle School follows the traditional model of a double-loaded corridor lined with student lockers. Occupants of the building cannot see into classrooms or out into the hallway, which makes the hallway a likely site for bullying to occur.

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Green Forest Middle School Green Forest, Arkansas

In designing Green Forest Middle School, a 2-story design was selected over a 1-story design to allow for more open space to encourage interaction among peers both inside and outside the building. Opportunity for informal surveillance exists in a variety of ways, reducing the instances of bullying. The library, for example, uses an open plan and low furniture to maximize visibility in the space to prevent bullying.

“Green Forest Middle School / Modus Studio.� ArchDaily. December 6, 2011. Accessed February 9, 2015. http://www.archdaily.com/188913/ green-forest-middle-school-modus-studio/.

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Much of the circulation space in the second floor is open to the space below, allowing for circulation spaces, a common place for bullying, to utilize informal surveillance to minimize bullying. In addition to reducing bullying through informal surveillance, Green Forest Middle School utilizes small group work areas located along the corridors to promote collaboration, which in addition to improving academic performance, has been shown to help prevent bullying.

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Golden High School

Golden, Colorado Located in Golden, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, Golden High School is composed of two buildings connected by corridors that enclose a courtyard. Throughout the building, structure and mechanical systems are left exposed, allowing the building to teach about building technologies in addition to the learning that takes place in class.

“Golden High School / NAC Architecture.� ArchDaily. August 17, 2011. Accessed February 9, 2015. http://www.archdaily.com/157626/golden- high-school-nac-architecture/.

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One building is 2 stories, and houses the classrooms, library, and administrative offices. The second building houses the more public functions, including the gym, cafeteria, and auditorium. The separation of functions allows for maximum daylight in the classrooms and for the school to remain partially open in the evening to public events while maintaining appropriate security measures.

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Design Considerations

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Based on the research findings, a set of design guidelines was developed to create criteria with which to direct and evaluate the level of effectiveness with which the design is meeting the goal of creating an inclusive, bully-free, safe school. Each of the schools visited were evaluated using these guidelines to see where schools are successful in preventing and eliminating bullying, and where the schools visited were less successful.

Because restrooms and locker rooms are common settings for bullying, and gender segregated facilities are sites of discrimination based on sex and gender expression, much thought and consideration has been given to the decisions pertaining to these facilities in the design of this school. It might seem extreme to design a school with only gender neutral facilities, especially when only a small percentage of the population identify as transgender or gender-nonconforming, but bullying and discrimination pose a serious threat, which requires a radical solution. Current approaches have made a dent in the problem, but it is not enough.

Bullying has long-term physical and psychological consequences that can follow a victim for a lifetime.

Denying or suppressing an individual’s identity can associate shame with that identity, and that shame is internalized and can have detrimental effects on the individual. Currently, the majority of the millennial generation believe that gender falls on a spectrum and is more complex than the tradition, binary model.1 Based on past trends in acceptance of diversity, future generations will be even more accepting of gender diversity. The time to eradicate the gender binary model in our society is now.

1 “50% of Millennials Believe Gender Falls on a Spectrum.� Fusion. Accessed January 22, 2015. http://fusion.net/story/42216/half-of-

young-people-believe-gender-isnt-limited-to-male-and-female/.

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Inclusive Design Principles Create opportunity for informal surveillance to reduce bullying.

Eliminate entrapment spots and provide clear wayfinding for students to avoid/escape bullying situations.

Provide appropriate options for privacy and inclusion for each student to feel comfortable and have a sense of belonging.

Provide judgment-free Safe Zones available to all students.

Provide opportunities for collaboration with peers. Collaboration with diverse peers increases acceptance and decreases judgment, discrimination, and bullying.

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Pros:

Sense of Safety from Gender Segregation Easy to Identify “intruders” Faster for men than single-occupant facilities

Cons:

Not welcoming to: -Individuals with disabilities needing assistance from a companion of a different gender -Transgender and gender nonconforming individuals Typically inadequate facilities for women

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Inclusive of all people More informal surveillance Does not require individuals to label gender Does not “out” transgender and gender nonconforming individuals Allows parents or companions of children or individuals with disabilities to assist without concern of gender

Allows individuals to choose based in self-identity rather than anatomy Allows parents or companions of children or individuals with disabilities to assist without concern of gender

Perceived increase threat of sexual harrasment/assault Stalls in place of urinals increases time for men Perceived reduction in privacy

Additional expense beyond code-required gender-binary restrooms Still labels gender-nonconforming individuals as “others”

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If women are afraid of undesired sexual attention from men in the women’s restroom, do women feel the same discomfort in a restroom shared with lesbians?

Do straight men feel a discomfort in a restroom shared with gay men? Do you have restrooms based on both gender and sexual orientation? Do homosexual individuals become ostracized from the bathroom corresponding with gender?

Every time a person walks into a restroom or locker room, that person is proclaiming to the world that he or she identifies with the label on the door. Most people never give a second thought to the implications of walking through a door with a sign designating the space for men or women, but just as young boy pleads with his mother to be allowed to use the men’s restroom instead of going into the women’s restroom under the supervision of his mother for both a sense of independence and belonging, gender non-conforming individuals look for a sense of belonging that is often not found in the gender-binary labeling system found in most restrooms. In much of the United States, state laws do not recognize transgender rights to use public restrooms aligning with self-identified gender, making it a sex crime for a transgender woman who has not had sex reassignment surgery to use the restroom designated for women. This woman is faced with the choice between committing a crime to use what she feels like is the more appropriate restroom, or out herself as transgender and risk verbal harassment

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and physical assault every time she needs to use the restroom. The labeling of restrooms may seem like a minor issue, but to an individual who identifies as something other than “completely male” or “completely female,” the binary labeling of restrooms imposes identity labels on the individual that disagree with the individual’s self-proclaimed identity. Over long periods of time, the inaccurate labeling of individuals can have negative psychological effects impact an individual’s well-being.

In a building with a large number of occupants, such as a school, a single-occupant restroom designated as gender-neutral is not the best solution. In some building types and scales, a single-occupant restroom can appropriately serve both a gender non-conforming and special needs population, but in a larger building, the proportion of single-occupant restrooms to the gender-binary men’s and women’s facilities can call unwanted attention to the users of the single-occupant facility, essentially “outing” the users as transgender or gender non-conforming.

Providing only gender-neutral restrooms and locker rooms is the clear approach to eliminating architectural discrimination based on sex and gender identity in schools. Gender is a socially-constructed idea, and the separation based on gender is completely unnecessary, particularly when the appropriate privacy measures are taken. The typical stall dividers provide

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for basic privacy needs. In multi-stall, gender-neutral restrooms, simply extending stall dividers down to the floor, or close to the floor, would hide the direction the user’s shoes are facing from view of individuals in adjacent stalls, protecting each user from being identified by anatomy, allowing gender identity to exist free of the limits of sex.

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The Site

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The site that was selected for a collaboration-based middle school in Indianapolis is on the southern edge of the downtown area. Two blocks south of South Street, the original edge of Indianapolis when it was a small trading post town, two blocks east of Indianapolis landmark Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the National Football League’s (NFL) Indianapolis Colts, and one block north of Interstate 70, the site sits in the middle of a vibrant, up-and-coming area in Indianapolis. In a more conservative state like Indiana, a school that challenges the traditional social norms, such as gender segregated restrooms, would most likely not be well received as a public school. A school that challenges the norms and uses a collaborative approach to education would more appropriately be proposed as a charter school, accepting students from surrounding areas but not bound by school district lines. The location in an up-and-coming area, as well as being within walking distance of major Indianapolis employers, including Rolls Royce Aerospace Engineering and Eli Lily Pharmaceuticals, and a 20 minute walk from the center of downtown, the selected site is a convenient location for students whose parents might work in the downtown area as a progressive alternative to local schools.

The specific site, bordered by Merrill Street to the north, the public alley right of way and Meridian Street to the east, and Russell Avenue to the west, was selected based on location and availability of land. At the time Image Underlay from GoogleEarth

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of the start of this project, the majority of the land and buildings on the site were for sale, making the site a logical and more realistic site for a school. Russell Avenue is highly traveled during the morning rush hour as it feeds into Illinois Street, a main, busy inbound route, at its intersection with Merrill Street. The other bordering roads are lightly traveled, at slower speeds, which is desirable for a school environment.

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Indianapolis Public School District and Surrounding Districts

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Design Process

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Snapshots of Design Process

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Review 1

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The first design review took place on January 28, 2015. The review focused on presenting the research findings and the design guidelines for a middle school in downtown Indianapolis. This review included a first pass at spatial layouts and some more detailed elements, such as locker room design. The goal of the review was to gain feedback on a variety of design goals and decisions to both help guide the design process and clarify my design intentions.

Part of the discussion centered around the four locker room configurations presented, ranging from the typical, gender-segregated model found in most schools with little privacy to a gender neutral locker room offering abundant privacy. For the most part, the idea of only offering a gender neutral locker room, even with abundant offerings of privacy, was not well received by reviewers. Reviewers expressed concerns about privacy and sexual assault, and a general uneasiness about eliminating gender segregation in the locker room. Reviewers preferred a model that includes a gender neutral locker room as a third option in addition to the typical male and female locker rooms. This however, cannot be the solution moving forward with the design as it still creates a distinction of “otherness�, which goes against the mission to create a school architecture inclusive of all students.

Reviewers: Crystal Nanney Karen Keddy Anthony Costello Student Reviewers: Brooke Longcore William Stark

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Review 2

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The second design review took place on February 25, 2015. A fairly-complete basic design of a school was presented, including floor plans, sections, elevations, and perspective images of the interior and exterior of the building. Feedback included advice on challenging the way certain school spaces including classrooms and dining facility can function and should be designed. Another focus of the discussion was the exploration of flexibility of space, particularly looking at classrooms and the furniture used. Several building code issues were discussed, including mechanical systems, parking, restrooms, and egress.

Reviewers: Pamela Harwood Crystal Nanney Karen Keddy Anthony Costello Student Reviewer: Brooke Longcore

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Review 3

School Store

Track/Gym Seating

Gym

Locker Room

Concession Stand

Office

Office

Nurse's Office

Auditorium

Auditorium

Music Room

Audio/ Lighting

Receiving

Kitchen

Media Arts Classroom DN

Cafeteria

Security Office Counseling Room DN

Office Office Waiting Area

Computer Lab

DN

Office Office

Classroom Classroom

Teacher Work Room Small Multi-Purpose Rooms

Classroom

Classroom

Teacher Work Room Classroom

Classroom

Wood Shop

Classroom

Classroom Science Lab

Classroom

Classroom

Science Lab Classroom

Classroom

Track/Gym Seating Classroom

Classroom

Library/Media Center

DN

Concession Stand

DN

Socratic Teachin Room

First Floor Plan Scale: 1”=20’ Auditorium

Audio/ Lighting

Media Arts Classroom

DN

Computer Lab

Teacher Work Room

Classroom

Classroom Classroom

Classroom

Classroom

Classroom Classroom

Classroom Classroom Classroom

Classroom

DN

DN

Socratic Teaching Room

Second Floor Plan Scale: 1”=20’

Second Floor Plan Scale: 1”=20’

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The third thesis design review took place on March 25.

The presentation included floor plans and many perspective renderings to show the spatial qualities of the school as well as the wide range of option explored for classroom arrangements and furnishings. Other major changes presented included the auditorium space being represented as a theaterin-the-round, a round, tiered, Socratic-method-based classroom at the south terminus of the building, and explorations of the building entry sequence in regards to design experience and security measures. New graphics to explain the complexity of gender and sexual orientation as spectrum-based qualities were tested in this presentation in preparation for the final presentation. Feedback included advice on improving the building entry sequence, improving the west façade of the building to more appropriately respond to the human and contextual scales, increasing flexibility in parts of the school, improving restroom design and challenging traditional designs, and better ways to show the building’s use of daylight. Feedback was also given on the draft copy of the book design.

Reviewers: Pamela Harwood Karen Keddy Anthony Costello Student Reviewers: Brooke Longcore William Stark Andrew Brindley Casey Byrnes

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Final Design

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The design of the Indianapolis Collaborative Arts Academy uses the Inclusive Design Principles to create a safe, welcoming learning environment. The design includes a large degree of flexibility with the use of space, type of class activity, size of class or group work, and type of learning. The nature of education has to adapt to a global economy, and schools and classrooms need to be able to adapt to meet the future demands of students and prepare them to compete globally. With an emphasis on collaboration, the Indianapolis Collaborative Arts Academy would be able to better prepare students for the rigors of high school and college by giving students the skills they need to work together towards a common goal, challenging each other and making each other better, while embracing diversity and eliminating bullying and discrimination. By having students work together, they learn that they have more in common with one another than they have which divides them, and by eliminating the stigma of difference, of “otherness�, bullying and discrimination are eliminated from the hearts and minds of the students, and therefore, eliminated from the school.

First Floor Plan

Second Floor Plan

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Students in grades 6 through 8 range in age from 11 to 14. This age range includes a time when many students experience a growth spurt and the beginnings of puberty. It is not uncommon for students in this age bracket to range from 4 feet tall all the way up to over 6 feet tall. A one-size-fits-all, static chair or desk is not the best furniture option, and can lead to student discomfort, which distracts from learning time. The ability to adjust and move furniture to meet the needs of each individual user gives that user a temporary sense of ownership over that item, allowing the student to use the chair as an asset contributing to the education process rather than a hindrance. Movable furniture allows for the rapid rearrangement of a space. A class can change from being seated in a circle to groups of 4 in a matter of seconds. Each student can adjust each seat to be able to see the instructor or the whiteboard so no view is blocked, something difficult to achieve when seated in static, orderly rows.

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The furniture shown in the Indianapolis Collaborative Arts Academy varies greatly to allow for choice based on class style or activity. Some classes, such as a science lab or music class, require specific pieces of furniture, like music stands or lab tables, but other classes are less restricted in what furniture could work.

In a discussion-based class where all reading and assignments can be completed on a laptop or tablet, are individual writing surfaces necessary? Could other forms of seating that respond to the range of body proportions of a middle school population be better than traditional desks? A beanbag chair, for example, molds to its occupant, and can be just as comfortable for a 4-foot-tall student as it is for a 6-foot-tall student.

A fabric, low-to-the-floor rocking seat, more commonly known as a video game rocker for its popularity as a seating option for video game enthusiasts, can also accommodate a wide range of user heights. Offering a seating option with the ability to rock back and forth is a common strategy in aiding students with autism and other sensory disorders because the rocking motion helps students to focus. This option could help not only students with autism, which the Center for Disease Control estimates affects 1 in 68 children , but could help many students focus, including those with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), students who are restless during the long school day, and those who prefer a multisensory learning experience.

1“Data & Statistics.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. March 24, 2014. Accessed April 12, 2015. http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html. “Data & Statistics.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. March 24, 2014. Accessed April 12, 2015. http://www.cdc. gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html.

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It is necessary for classrooms to be able to adapt to a wide range of activity uses and adapt for teaching styles and technology we do not have yet. iPads, projectors, and white boards have replaced books and chalkboards. Will schools move to be completely paperless in the near future? Can every wall in a classroom be both a writing surface and a projection surface, instead of just designated boards and screens?

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By designing L-shaped classrooms where possible, more seating layouts are possible than with a traditional square classroom. The shape also allows for small group work spaces just outside the door, to be used for group work, for students to speak with the teacher individually, for students to talk and work out their differences, or for individual/small group work with a resource teacher or guidance counselor.

The Indianapolis Collaborative Arts Academy encourages students to challenge each other, elevating the level of discussion and debate for all students.

Located at the southern end of the school, the Socratic Teaching Room creates an open environment for open discussion, debate, and the Socratic Method of teaching. The room is left open to the rest of the school, encouraging participation and collaboration.

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Lunch can be an exciting social break from the rigors of the classroom, or a time filled with social anxiety for a middle school student. The dining hall in the Indianapolis Collaborative Arts Academy aims to make lunch a pleasant and relaxing time for all students by offering a variety of seating arrangements to fit every student’s needs. The dining hall includes tables for groups of 4, booths that seat a pair of students up to a group of 8, and individual counter seating for students who might prefer to sit alone or with one or two friends along the edge of the room, away from the louder, more active parts of the dining hall.

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The library and media center is designed to be flexible to adapt to future needs and technology. With books becoming less necessary with the ability to store thousands of documents on a single tablet, it is possible that all books would be removed from the media center in the future. As the role of the library continues to change with the rapid integration of technology, the space will continue to adapt. Beyond adaptability, a design goal for the library and media center is to maintain the spirit of a library, a place for people to come together to learn and study.

The entrance wall for the media center and library serves as both a place for students to read and an educational tool. The geometry is derived from the basic trigonometry functions, showing relationships between trigonometry, the coordinate plane, and human proportions.

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The gym is designed to maximize flexibility in use.

Two full basketball courts can be divided by a curtain to allow for two classes to occur at the same time. The space can accommodate a range of activities, including basketball, volleyball, kickball, dodgeball, badminton, ultimate Frisbee, and many more. The track on the second floor allows for walking and jogging activities, both as part of a gym class and open to students and teachers during lunch and after school to promote health and fitness. A rooftop recreation field creates opportunity to play soccer and flag football, along with other outdoor activities, when the weather permits.

The spectator seating area for the gym is located on the second floor, looking down to the gym floor. This allows for a separation of the spaces designated for the athletes/performers and the public, which can create a safer and more comfortable environment for the students. It also allows to the use of a shared lobby/reception space with the auditorium, which is both more efficient and easier in terms of security logistics, which is always a concern when visitors are coming into the school.

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Gym Section

Auditorium Section

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With an emphasis on art, the auditorium in the Indianapolis Collaborative Arts Academy as set up as a theater-in-the-round. This approach allows for great flexibility in set-up and use. It also reinforces the sense of community that is integral to the school as students face each other, coming together for a school event or celebration. Inspired by black box theaters, the auditorium is designed in a minimal way to encourage creativity and variety of use. A wide door connects the music/theater classroom directly to the stage level, making it easy to roll large instruments and props into the auditorium. The sound and light booth has a prominent presence in the auditorium, encouraging students to learn and be involved with the more technical side of theater as well.

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As a school that believe is accepting all students and embracing diversity, every employee would complete SafeZone training and every space in the school would be considered a SafeZone, a place where it is safe to be different, a space free of judgement. But even in that environment, there are times when a student or group of students need a smaller, more intimate safe space.

Whether if it is to work on a group project away from the distraction of other students or to have a meeting with a counselor or a parent-teacher conference, the small group rooms included in the design of the Indianapolis Collaborative Arts Academy provide a small, comfortable, safe environment for groups of 2 to 4 to meet and talk. Each room offers different seating options, depending on the need of the user.

Throughout the school, teacher work spaces provide teachers space to collaborate, work on lessons and grading, and complete daily tasks in an efficient way using shared resources. By giving teachers office space outside of the classroom, a teacher can use different classrooms for different classes depending on what is most appropriate. The classrooms become more of a shared space, encouraging collaboration and communication rather than territoriality.

By providing shared teacher work spaces, each teacher still retains individual work space, but collaboration is easier and resources can be shared. A shared teacher space also provides teachers and staff places to socialize during the day away from students, which can aid overall teacher well-being and morale.

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Daylighting is a critical element in the design of the Indianapolis Collaborative Arts Academy. Daylighting increases focus and overall well-being. The use of daylighting can also reduce the need to electric lighting, reducing both energy use and operational expenses. The zones highlighted in yellow indicate space where light levels are suitable for reading with no supplemental electric lighting on an overcast day, based on the guidelines and formulas for daylighting design presented in The Architect’s Studio Companion: Rules of Thumb for Preliminary Design. The zones highlighted in orange indicate spaces where light is passing into a space from another interior space, such as light from the atrium entering through a classroom window. Exterior shading devices shade the glazing from direct sun, minimizing distracting glare and solar heat gain.

1 Allen, Edward, and Joseph Iano. The Architect’s Studio Companion Rules of Thumb for Preliminary Design. 4th ed. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley, 2007.

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Just as daylighting is important for occupant comfort and wellbeing, thermal comfort and air quality are also important factors in the design. A heat pump system allows the heat from overheated spaces, such as the kitchen or a computer lab, to be redistributed to heat colder spaces in the building, reducing energy use and expense. Incorporating small mechanical spaces that serve zones of the building maximize access to fresh air as well as maximizing efficiency of the system.

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In an effort to eliminate discrimination and bullying, labels that separate and segregate people have been removed from the Indianapolis Collaborative Arts Academy. Gender-segregated restrooms and locker rooms force people to label themselves with a particular gender label every time a facility is used.

This goes against the position to create a label-free, judgement-free environment. Additionally, this model is not inclusive of students and teachers who identify as something other than cis-gender male or female. The practice that is rapidly becoming common to handle this situation is to provide a third option, a genderneutral restroom for anyone who does not fit the norms created by gender-segregated facilities. This, however, still creates a sense of “otherness”, and also fails to meet the criteria of a label-free, judgement-free, inclusive environment. That is why all facilities that are traditionally gender-segregated such as restrooms and locker rooms, are gender-neutral facilities. Steps have been taken to provide users privacy and comfort, and a limited number of single-occupant restrooms are provided in addition to the multi-stall gender-neutral facilities. In the multi-stall restrooms, stall dividers span from 2 inches above the floor to 7 feet above the floor, providing both the standard level of privacy and protecting the user’s feet from being visible from the next stall. What this does is prevent other people from knowing whether or not a person’s sex and gender are the same or not. A transgender woman who presents as a woman but has male anatomy could urinate Stall dividers in the United Airlines Terminal of O’Hare International Airport, Chicago

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standing and still not disclose that she is transgender.

The use of stall dividers rather than full walls from floor to ceiling allows for easier cleaning and maintenance as well as allowing the building to be more easily renovated in the future to adapt to changing needs.

The research, surveys, and interviews suggest that the locker room is an uncomfortable space conducive to bullying because people are changing and showering, exposing themselves, and judging others. If students have more privacy and are not forced to change and shower in front of other students or be judged for breaking the norm and seeking more privacy, this hostile environment would not exist. By providing individual stalls for students to change and shower, privacy becomes the norm in the locker room.

Individual stalls that lock from the inside give each student a safe, private, comfortable place to change and shower without fear of judgement, harassment, or pranks. Because each student changes and showers in a private stall, students are not exposing themselves to each other and there is no reason to segregate locker room facilities by gender.

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The nurse’s office is located in the northern half of the school on the first floor. This is so the nurse’s office is close to the gym, where injuries can occur, and the cafeteria for students who may take medication during the middle of the school day. The nurse’s office has an exit to the alley that is used for deliveries, which would allow ill students to be picked up by parents without having to walk through the school, reducing security concerns, reducing risk of that student infecting others, and providing privacy for the ill student. Access to the alley would also allow for ambulance transport for a medical emergency without causing concern or panic in the rest of the school.

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Unfortunately, school security is a major concern in designing a school.

Schools are becoming fortresses in an attempt to prevent shootings. Too much emphasis on security can cause unnecessary concern, worry, and uneasiness, which distracts from a student’s education. A student does better when the student feels safe at school. The goal is for the security measures to protect students but not disrupt the school day or cause fear. During the school day, the only entrance that is unlocked is the main entrance. As an individual passes through the first set of doors, that individual also walks through a metal detector. Before passing through the second set of doors, a student or teacher identification card must be scanned to grant access into the school. Most colleges and universities currently use a card scanning system to control access to dormitory and academic buildings after hours.

Having each student scan an ID card to enter school can also provide the school attendance information instantly. The secure entry vestibule is monitored by a security officer from the adjacent security office, where visitors must sign in and the officer has the ability to put the school on lock down from within the office in the event of an emergency. A folding divider can be used to divide the school in an emergency, preventing an intruder from moving between the north and south halves of the school. This divider can also close off the south half of the school during after-hours activities, which all take place in the north half of the school.

A second entrance in the northwest corner of the building can be opened for after-hours activities in the gym, auditorium, and cafeteria, and security measure would be similar for this entrance.

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Appendix

192 Appendix A Works Cited

“50% of Millennials Believe Gender Falls on a Spectrum.” Fusion. Accessed January 22, 2015. http://fusion.net/story/42216/half-ofyoung-people-believe-gender-isnt-limited-tomale-and-female/.

About Us.” Lambda Legal. Accessed October 26, 2014.

Allen, Edward, and Joseph Iano. The Architect’s Studio Companion Rules of Thumb for

Preliminary Design. 4th ed. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley, 2007.

Anthony, K. H., and M. Dufresne. “Potty Parity in Perspective: Gender and Family Issues in Planning and Designing Public Restrooms.”

Journal of Planning Literature, 2007, 267-94.

Accessed September 18, 2014. jpl.sagepub. com.

Anthony, Kathryn H., and Meghan Dufresne.

“Potty Privileging in Perspective.” In Ladies and Gents: Public Toilets and Gender, 50.

Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2009.

Baum, J., Brill, S., Brown, J., Delpercio, A., Kahn, E., Kenney, L. and Nicoll, A. (2014). Supporting and Caring for our Gender-Expansive Youth.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

Appendix A Works Cited 193

“Best Practices for Serving Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Students in Schools.”

Masstpc.org. November 1, 2012. Accessed September 2, 2014.

Biegel, Stuart. The Right to Be Out: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in America’s Public Schools. Minneapolis, Minn.: University of Minnesota Press, 2010.

Brown, Elizabeth Nolan. “Why Aren’t There More Unisex Bathrooms?.” Reason 46, no. 3 (July 2014): 68-69. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed September 6, 2014).

Burke, Catherine, and Ian Grosvenor. School.

London: Reaktion Books, 2008.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. March 25, 2014. Accessed September 16, 2014.

“Colin Powll Middle School.” ArchDaily. Accessed February 9, 2015. http://www.archdaily. com/172245/colin-powell-middle-school-legat/.

“Data & Statistics.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. March 24, 2014. Accessed April 12, 2015. http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/ data.html.

“Dress Codes.” LambdaLegal.org. Accessed

194 Appendix A Works Cited

September 5, 2014.

“Equal Access to Public Restrooms.” Lambdalegal. org. Accessed September 5, 2014.

“Fact Sheet: Transgender & Gender Nonconforming Youth In School.” SRLP Sylvia Rivera Law Project. Accessed September 13, 2014.

Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Pantheon Books, 1977.

“Golden High School / NAC Architecture.” ArchDaily.

August 17, 2011. Accessed February 9, 2015. http://www.archdaily.com/157626/golden-highschool-nac-architecture/.

“Green Forest Middle School / Modus Studio.”

ArchDaily. December 6, 2011. Accessed February 9, 2015. http://www.archdaily. com/188913/green-forest-middle-schoolmodus-studio/.

Growing Up LGBT in America. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

“Know Your Rights,” Lambdalegal.org. Accessed September 5, 2014.

“Know Your Rights: A Guide for Trans and Gender Nonconforming Students.” Aclu.org. May 8, 2012. Accessed September 11, 2014.

Appendix A Works Cited 195

“LGBT Terms and Definitions.” Internationalspectrum. umich.edu. Accessed October 31, 2014.

“National Center for Transgender Equality: Home.”

National Center for Transgender Equality.

Accessed September 13, 2014.

Rothblatt, Martine Aliana. The Apartheid of Sex: A Manifesto on the Freedom of Gender. New York: Crown Publishers, 1995.

Sheard, Sarah. “LGBT People Twice as Likely to Suffer From Chronic Mental Health Problems.”

Varsity, September 11, 2014. Accessed September 11, 2014.

“Silverland Middle School / Tate Snyder Kimsey.”

ArchDaily. August 26, 2011. Accessed February 9, 2015. http://www.archdaily. com/163765/silverland-middle-school-tatesnyder-kimsey/.

“Some Indiana Parents, Teacher Want ‘traditional Prom’ to Ban Gays, Lesbians .” NY Daily News. Accessed October 22, 2014.

“The Space of the School as a Changing Educational Tool.” In Educational Dimensions of School Buildings, edited by Jan Bengtsson. Frankfurt Germany: Peter Lang GmbH, 2011.

196

“SPLC Demands Missouri High School End Policy Banning Same-sex Couples from Prom.”

Splcenter.org. Accessed October 22, 2014.

“Students: Know Your Rights.” Splcenter.org.

Accessed September 13, 2014.

“Understanding Gender.” Genderspectrum.org.

Accessed September 5, 2014.

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198 Appendix B Teacher Interviews

Second Grade Teacher Anderson, Indiana

Is bullying a problem in your classroom, and if so, how big of a problem?

Sometimes. The biggest problem with bullying in the classroom is verbal. The students have been together for two years so they do know a lot about each other and know how to push each other’s buttons. Because this is a special education inclusion room, we do have some issues with students thinking that other students are not as smart as they are. There is also one student who will bully other students. I think that it is to compensate for her inability to figure out the content that is begin taught so she takes that out on other students about petty things.

Where does bullying occur? Are the places it happens more often?

The bullying will occur the most at recess. It occasionally will happen in the classroom with the student mentioned above but with the other students it mostly happens at recess. I believe that this is because it is a large playground without direct supervision or structure. There are many times when students will come up to us on the playground and tell us that something happened, so and so called them a name, someone was picking on them, but all we can do is question both of the children because really we have no way of officially knowing what happened because we didn’t directly see or hear it.

Appendix B Teacher Interviews 199

How can you prevent bullying?

One way is to make the children see that we are all different but that is ok. Another way that I like is to give all of the children a piece of paper and have them draw a face on it and give it a name. They can then crumble up the paper. I tell them that this is what happens when we call people bad names or are mean to others or bully. The students then open the paper and try to open it and take the wrinkles out. When they see that it doesn’t happen, you can’t get the wrinkles out, they will also see that you can’t take back what you say or do to other people, it will stay with them and continue to hurt them.

200 Appendix B Teacher Interviews

Third Grade Teacher Houston, Texas

Is bullying a problem in your class? How big of a problem?

Occasionally with a few students. There have been a few students who have been calling each other names and saying inappropriate things to each other. It has become a bigger problem lately and it has been just calling people names and pointing out differences between them.

Where does bullying occur? Are the places it happens more often?

It has been occurring more often than not during gym. This is a place where there aren’t many teachers or structure or supervision. It is difficult because it becomes a he said she said argument with no proof. It also happens in the restroom, more the boys than the girls. This is possibly because neither my partner or I are male teachers so we cannot go into the boys restroom. The final place I see it occasionally is in the classroom. When they do it in the classroom it is much more desecrate. However, I have a class of 26 and 27 students so it is difficult to see everything that goes on. I do my best and catch a lot of the things that happen in the classroom.

Appendix B Teacher Interviews 201

How can you prevent bullying?

In my classroom I talk with the students and turn back whatever they said or did back in them. I recently had a thing with a student saying another student had bugs. I was able to turn it back on him and ask him how would he like it if someone said that he had bugs. This hit home and really upset him. He didn’t like that and has not done any type of bullying since then.

202 Appendix B Teacher Interviews

Administrative Assistant Berkeley, California

How big of a problem is bullying at your school?

It has never been as big of a problem as people think, especially because in elementary the students are very supervised and the majority of bullying seems to happen in the upper grades. We saw opportunity to try to prevent bullying and exclusion at an early age to try to prevent bullying later. Like everywhere, we still have a few problems, but for the most part it isn’t a problem, at least not as big as it seems like elsewhere and in the news.

How does the school deal with bullying?

We have a pretty standard discipline system like most schools, and we address bullying like other discipline issues. If bullying continues, we contact parents sooner than we would for other discipline issues. Our focus is more on preventing the behavior.

Appendix B Teacher Interviews 203

How do you prevent bullying?

We look at it as preventing dangerous or exclusion behavior. We post signs with rules for each space, including hallway rules, bathroom rules, etc. as a constant reminder of behavior. It also helps students make sure their peers are behaving. We have an open door policy. Classroom doors stay open as much as possible. Bathroom doors stay open so students have privacy but teachers can hear what is going on from the hall. The school also has an open door policy, like you are seeing today. We leave the doors unlocked during the day and allow visitors and parents access. As long as a visitor signs in and gets proper credentials and follows the rules, we welcome visitors. The more eyes we have around the building, the fewer problems we seem to have. We just ask that parents not go to their child’s class because that causes disruptions. We try to give as much freedom as we can and still keep the kids safe. Excuse me, I have to answer this call, feel free to walk around and check out the building.

204 Appendix B Teacher Interviews

Kindergarten Teacher Berkeley, California

How big of a problem is bullying at your school?

Well I teach kindergarten, so they aren’t really old enough to bully yet, but I do know that things have gotten a lot better here in the last few years. In kindergarten the biggest problem is not sharing crayons.

How does the school deal with bullying?

From what I see, bullying doesn’t happen very often, so it must be dealt with effectively. I know last year there was an issue of bullying at recess in a 3rd grade class, and the teachers tried everything, and eventually we divided the recess area into zones, and teachers can assign and separate students into zones if we need to prevent certain kids from interacting. It doesn’t correct the bullying, but it at least protects the victims while the principal, counselor, and parents work to help the bully correct the behavior.

Appendix B Teacher Interviews 205

How do you prevent bullying?

I think it starts with making everyone equal. It seems to me that bullying is based on opportunity when someone is different or less than. Also kids like their freedom, but they won’t do something they know is wrong like hurt someone if they think they will get caught. At recess, the teachers can be in a central spot and see the entire yard and every kid, but the kids have the freedom to run. (the fence is up to approx. 40 yards away from the teacher watch point) But there are things that are off limits. We have bathrooms with outdoor access for recess, but students have to ask and we only let one or two students go at a time with a teacher listening outside.

206 Appendix B Teacher Interviews

Third Grade Teacher Houston, Texas

How big of a problem is bullying in your class or in any of the classes you have taught?

Yes, bullying is a problem in certain classes. Right now the class I’m teaching is a third grade class in an inner city school so there is some bullying but I feel like um you know if I try hard to create this environment where bullying is so shameful then they won’t do it as much.

And they do. If I make it so that when they bully it is a really big deal, it goes down as the year goes on.

Are there places in a school where bullying occurs more often?

School bus, always that school bus. Um I guess depending on what school you go to, the cafeteria.

Places where they can be more social. Like you know in the classroom, they are in desks and the teacher is kind of circling, but when they have places where they can actually talk about what they want to talk about, that’s when the real feelings come out. So any time they can be more social, that’s when more bullying comes out.

But the school bus is a big one.

Appendix B Teacher Interviews 207

Why do you think the school bus is such a big place for bullying?

You know it’s weird; it’s not supervised very well. And kids tend to sit in the back of the bus and no one ever wants to go to the back of the bus and there’s multi-level kids so it’s like I’m bigger than this little kid. It’s never one group of kids. It’s all the kids, all the places, and this long big bus with high seats that no one can see.

That’s why I think it is. And then a kid at the end of the day, it’s not as bad in the morning, but at the end of the day, they are all wound up and frustrated on something and trying to be cool. I don’t know what goes on—I’m know going to act like I was all perfect when I was little, but who knows what goes on in their little heads. I don’t know. They let off steam just like we let off steam they let off steam. It’s not good but they don’t know how to turn it into anything positive yet. Some of them.

208 Appendix B Teacher Interviews

What can be done to prevent bullying?

I really think what works is that the whole acceptance speech. Like if you start your standards at the beginning of the year, and I say the beginning of the year because you can only be responsible from that point, of what you expects and how you expect it and try to keep this environment where we are all equal, no matter what, I don’t shy away from the bullying, then its good. I’m one of those teachers that are like if I see it happening I’m making a big deal about it because I don’t want it to happen ever again. And I know it may be easier to be like oh I didn’t see it or I don’t want to have to call this parent but if you make a big like really dramatic, like I’m really dramatic when it happens it’s not good, then the kids realize I don’t want her talking to me like that and I don’t want to be put on the spot like that. But even when I do that, it’s not like they are self-motivated to do that. Actually it starts at home, I know everyone says that, but they need to be self-motivated not to want to hurt anybody. So and compliment them when they do the right thing. Make a big deal about it when they are a good citizen and they will be like ok I can do this.

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210 Appendix C Bullying Survey

What is your gender?

I identify as female Male Gender queer female Male Male Male Female Male Female Female male Male female Female male Femal Female Male Female Female Male Male Cis Female Female Male female Female Female Female Female Female Male genderqueer, do not identify Female Female

How do you define your sexual orientation?

I am generally attracted to men. I have enjoyed sex with women too.

Heterosexual Lesbian Straight Straight Heterosexual Straight

Appendix C Bullying Survey 211

Heterosexual Straight Straight Heterosexual Straight heterosexual straight gay Straight Straight gay ELDERLY and WAY past ANY sexual orientation! heterosexual Straight Heterosexual Heterosexual How someone “orients� themselves romantically/ emotionally/ sexually towards others.

Bisexual straight homosexual Bisexual Heterosexual straight Heterosexual Homosexual technically straight since I am a born male, but honestly since I do not identify I do not know what the proper term for being a born male that does not identify but is into women. bisexual Heterosexual

Did you ever feel unsafe or uncomfortable in school?

No, I never felt unsafe-16 Yes, I felt unsafe occasionally-17 Yes, I felt unsafe often-2

212 Appendix C Bullying Survey

Where did you feel unsafe Did or uneasy?

Where You Feel Bus Athletic Field Parking Lot Restroom Locker Room Gym Common Space Cafeteria Hallway Classroom

Unsafe?

14% 9% 26% 17% 31% 14% 29% 23% 34% 9% 0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Why did you feel unsafe or uncomfortable in the place(s) selected above?

My best friend is gay and came out when we were in freshmen. People asked intimate questions and made assumptions about me. In gym, there was a boy who bullied me. One day I complained what it pain it is to shave my legs and why do we even have to. Next day he felt my skin and said ooooo you shaved. He was unnecessarily rough in dodgeball.

I eventually hit him. He hit me back and they suspended us both. After that it was mostly ok between us.

I did not feel unsafe or uncomfortable Less supervision. Even in very public areas with lots of people, people don’t always pay attention or have your back. Lots of hidden areas.

I didn’t. I lived in Zionsville. Crime almost doesn’t exist there.

Afraid of people messing with me.

Other students would tease and engage in inappropriate accusations regarding sexual preference, many of them implying large negativity to someone who is homosexual.

Because there were many people at my school that I didn’t know well, and I wasn’t sure if I could trust them. Also, my school didn’t have that

30%

35%

40%

Appendix C Bullying Survey 213

strict of rules for our safety and protection. bullied N/A I never felt unsafe. outside NA students would make sexual comments I never felt unsafe or uncomfortable. because I thought others were looking at me N/A Fighting Threats of violence and harassment.

Never felt unsafe......

I was new to public school, having gone to parochial school Gr. 1-8 Those were either places I was most likely to run into people I didn’t wanna see (because everyone was there) or places I didn’t feel comfortable at because I wasn’t an athlete.

Never felt unsafe Never felt unsafe I was threatened to be shot by another kid in elementary school on the bus, so from then on I didn’t like it.

N/A n/a N/a Dark, poorly lit. I didn’t know who might have been around there.

Others would pick on me and make remarks because I was tomboyish.

N/a I never felt unsafe or uncomfortable

214 Appendix C Bullying Survey

The people around me. Not being able to seen by a teacher or faculty.

Being younger than other students, and feeling intimidated. It’s pretty traumatizing as a kid!!

Mainly they were places that I felt unwelcome because I didn’t adhere to the traditional male archetype. dark and unsupervised the majority of the time.

I never felt unsafe.

Where did you experience or witness the following?

Type of Bullying Name Calling Derogatory Language Sexual Comments Exclusion Verbal Harassment Pushing/Shoving Verbal Threats Physical Threats Physical Assault

Classroom Hallway Cafeteria Restroom Locker Room Gym Playground Outdoors Bus Common Space Parking Lot 15 23 25 7 17 12 11 12 10 11 10 14 21 19 15 16 11 8 14 12 11 12 8 19 13 12 14 15 4 10 9 12 12 20 16 21 1 15 15 6 10 8 14 6 13 20 19 6 11 11 7 9 11 8 5 3 21 12 3 11 9 8 11 5 8 6 3 11 7 3 8 7 4 8 7 5 6 1 10 5 1 6 5 2 4 4 2 3 2 12 8 1 5 4 2 5 2 4 6 79

153

129

49

103

89

52

83

68

75

66

Which best describes the environment where each type of bullying occurred?

Type of Bullying Isolated Semi-Isolated Populated Crowded Name Calling Classroom Hallway Cafeteria 1 5 15 7 Type of Bullying Restroom Locker Room Gym Playground Outdoors Bus Common Space Parking Lot Name Calling 82% 25% 43% 36% 39% 36% Derogatory Language54% 2 89% 3 61% 43% 10 39% 13 Derogatory Language 50% 75% 68% 54% 57% 39% 29% 50% 43% 39% 43% Sexual Comments 29% 1 46% 16 50% 54% 8 14% 3 32% Sexual Comments 68% 43% 36% 43% 43% Exclusion 71% 57% 4% 36% 29% 50% 21% Exclusion 1 75% 6 54% 54% 11 21% 10 Verbal Harassment 46% 71% 68% 21% 39% 39% 25% 32% 39% 29% 18% Verbal Harassment 11% 2 43% 8 39% 32% 14 29% 4 18% Pushing/Shoving 75% 11% 39% 29% 21% Verbal Threats 11% 39% 25% 11% 29% 25% 14% 29% 18% 21% Pushing/Shoving 4 7 10 7 25% Physical Threats 4% 36% 18% 4% 21% 18% 7% 14% 14% 7% 11% VerbalAssault Threats 7 29% 11 18% 14% 6 7% 4 7% Physical 7% 43% 4% 18% 14% 21% Physical Threates 10 10 5 3 Physical Assault 10 6 6 6

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216 Appendix D Teacher Survey

What grade and/or subject do you teach?

General Education, Grade 2 Reading 3rd and 4th grade 5th grade 4th grade reading ELA 3rd grade 4th grade writing and science 3rd 5th grade Sixth grade 4th 3rd Economics Library Asst. 6-8 Second Grade 3rd grade

Which best describes the school where you teach?

Small rural school-0 Large rural school-1 Small suburban school-0 Large suburban school-0 Small urban school-3 Large urban school-12

Does bullying occur in the school where you teach?

No, bullying does not occur Yes, bullying occurs occasionally-9 Yes, bullying occurs frequently-1

Appendix D Teacher Survey 217 Does Bullying Occur in the School Where You Teach?

Yes, Bullying Occurs Occasionally 9 Yes, Bullying Occurs Often 1 No, Bullying Does Not Occur 0

Where Does Bullying Occur?

Name Calling Derogatory Language Sexual Comments Exclusion Verbal Harassment Pushing/Shoving Verbal Threats Physical Threats Physical Assault

Where Does Bullying Occur?

Name Calling Derogatory Language Sexual Comments Exclusion Verbal Harassment Pushing/Shoving Verbal Threats Physical Threats Physical Assault

90% 10% 0%

Where does the following occur? Classroom Hallway 7 2 1 8 4 3 1 0 0

6 3 0 4 5 6 4 2 0

Cafeteria Restroom Locker Room Gym Playground Outdoors Bus Common Space 6 6 0 1 4 4 5 3 1 0 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 2 0 2 6 4 1 2 3 0 0 5 3 1 2 2 0 2 4 3 2 2 2 0 0 4 1 3 1 1 0 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2 2 1 3 2 3 1 1 0

Why do you think bullying occurs in the places Classroom Hallway Cafeteria Restroom Locker Room Gym Playground Outdoors Bus Common Space you selected above?0% 10% 70% 60% 60% 60% 40% 40% 50% 20% 20% 10% 80% 40% 30% 10% 0% 0%

10% It30% is hard 30% to monitor

0% 10% 10% 20% 20% 20% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10% 0% 0% 0% 10% 40% 40% 20% 0% 20% 60% 40% 10% 30% Students believe the teacher or other adult50% on duty 30% is not paying atten50% 20% 30% 0% 0% 10% 20% tion.

60% 20% 20% 0% 20% 40% 30% 20% 30% 40% 20% 20% 0% 0% 40% 10% 30% 10% 20% 10% 0% following 0% 30% everywhere 0% 20% they go. 10% Because there are10% not teachers them 0% 0% are where 0% 0% 0% 0% These places they 0% have0%the most0% independence.

For the most part, I think bullying occurs in Verbal locations that are larger with Harassment less supervision. In the gym, there are multiple classes in there at once and only 3 adults. I feel that this makes it extremely difficult to monitor every student, thus letting them get away with more that they could in the classroom. The same could be said for being outside at recess or on the bus. In the classroom, I notice it mostly happening when students are working in groups. I feel this is because everyone is talking, so it is difficult for the teacher or others to hear what the students are saying from across the room. At the same time, I am usually working with another group of students, so it is difficult to listen to what they are working on and monitoring what the other students are saying.

Too many students in one place. students who are not as high academically sometimes end up being the butt of jokes from other students When students are in a social setting, some feel the need to have power over others.

Less structure and students have opportunities to interact with other students that they know they don’t get along with.

These are mostly places that adults are not present or do not have complete control over the students. These are also for the most part a less structured environment.

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The type of students we have, which comes from their home life.

How do you (or the school) deal with bullying?

Counseling, Behavior modification plans Have discussion with the student about their behavior, including why it is unacceptable and what behavior is expected. Inform parents and administrators.

We have the student speak with the school counselor and the principal steps in and we follow state regulations In the beginning of the year I try to prevent any bullying by making all the students feel as if they are part of a family here at school. This usually creates a mutual respect for most of the students. For the most part when bullying occurs, I addressed in the classroom. I will either pull the student(s) doing the bullying into the hallway to address the problem.

If it comes to the point where it is effecting the entire class, I will say something to the group.

I talk with the direct student and with the class. I have had the counselor do a lesson on bullying. talking to the students and disciplinary actions We have a bully chest right outside of the library. When a student suspects bullying, they can submit a slip of paper describing the situation.

The counselor reads through the slips and contacts the appropriate people. When I am aware of the behavior, I remind students to make the right choice. I will pull them aside and ask them how they would feel if someone treated them in this way. Depending on the student and the situation, I create goals for them or tell them that I know they are better than that.

We stop the situation immediately and take further action (time out, to the office, etc) if necessary.

It is not tolerated at all. In my classroom if you are caught bullying you are going to talk to me and get a call home. Depending on the severity of the bullying there could be a possible suspension from the school and a home phone call. reports are made to the Dean

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220 Appendix E Laverne Cox Lecture

Transcript for Laverne Cox lecture, Emens Auditorium, February 23, 2015 Audio and video recording of this event were strictly prohibited by Ball State University’s Excellence in Leadership program (the sponsor of the event) and Ms. Cox. The following is excerpts from Ms. Cox’s lecture transcribed by hand during the event. As a result, there may be small errors in this transcript.

Laverne Cox: I want to thank each and every one of you for coming out to hear me speak tonight it means the world to me and you look lovely tonight. It’s so good to be back in Indiana. I’m so honored to be here tonight, and I stand before you tonight a proud African American transgender woman from a working class background, raised by a single mother. I stand before you an artist and actor, a sister and a daughter, and I believe it’s important to name the various intersecting components of my multiple identities because I’m not just one thing, and neither are you. I believe it’s important to claim the various components of intersecting identity with pride.

According to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, the homicide rate in the LGBTQ community is highest among trans women. In 2013, 67% of all LGBT homicides were trans women of color. The national unemployment rate is twice the national average for trans people, even higher for trans women of color. The incarceration rate for trans women is 16% compared to

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1% of the general population. 78% of students grades K through 8 who express a transgender or gender nonconforming identity experience harassment or bullying.

78%. It is a state of emergency, affecting far too many trans people across the nation. Dr. Cornel West reminds us justice is what love looks like in public. That’s good right? Justice is what love looks like in public. Trans and gender-nonconforming people could use some justice tonight, some love today. Poor and working people could use some justice, some love today. People of color could use some justice, some love today. People with disabilities can you some love, some justice today.

Ain’t I a woman?

It is my belief that one of the biggest obstacles facing the transgender community are obstacles which disavow our identity, points of view that bully and only recognize a gender we were assigned at birth, points of view that no matter what I do I will never be enough of a woman, and yet, ain’t I a woman?

Ain’t I a woman? We all heard of Sojourner Truth, yeah? Sojourner Truth, the revolutionary abolitionist in women’s rights activist spoke those powerful words “aint I a woman” on May 29th 1851. That happened to be my birthday, different year though; I’m not quite that old. Sojourner Truth spoke those powerful words in 1851 at the Ohio Women’s Convention. She spoke those words in context of a women’s liberation struggle that suggested she wasn’t really a woman because she spoke those words in a social context that denied her very humanity because she was black.

Before I was a gender nonconforming college student in New York, I was born in Mobile, Alabama. As I said, I was born to a single mother. I was born exactly 7 minutes before my identical twin brother, which means I’m older and I never let him forget that, but that unfortunately means that he’s younger than I never lets me forget that. My mother often had to work two, sometimes three

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jobs to take care of my brother and me. She eventually became a teacher, so education was very important in my family. My mother was keen to make sure my brother and I were aware of the rich history of racial oppression we were born into being born in Alabama. And also aware of a history of resistance to oppression we were born into being born in Alabama. Alabama is a state where many of you know Governor Wallace stood at the gate University of Alabama to keep the school from being desegregated, but Alabama is also the state where Rosa Parks in 1955 refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus to a white man, which was the law at the time, defiant act was the catalyst for the Montgomery bus boycott and the seminal moment in our nation’s civil rights struggle. It all happened in Alabama and so much more stuff went down in Alabama.

So before I knew anything about myself, I know that I was black. And I started interacting with other kids in pre-school. They’re using words like “sissy” and an F word for sissy that I don’t like to use. In preschool up until about high school, I was bullied practically every single day. I was called names by other kids and taunted by other kids who wanted to beat me up. When I think about the bullying I experienced as a kid, I think about a number of things. I think it’s interesting that anti-gay slurs were being used to bully me when really they were bullying me about my gender and gender expression. I didn’t act the ways in which society thought that I should act. According to the other boys, they said I acted like a girl, whatever that means. I believe if we’re really serious about ending the bullying LGBTQ youth, we have to begin to create spaces of gender self-determination for all of our youth. The flawed logic of the gender binary system which we live currently is that we expect sexual orientation and gender to fall into these boxes we consider the norm. We basically say if one is born with a penis he should be attracted to women and should be a man, and if one is born with a vagina they should be feminine and attracted to men, but we know the lived

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experiences of the realities of our lives defy that binary model. I often find that the gender binary model cannot exist without gender policing, and often many of us are called to be the gender police in our lives to tell other folks this is the way a real woman should behave for a real man should act. Boys should not play with dolls is it really good example.

Another thing I think about when I think about the bullying I experienced as a child is my mother’s reaction. When my mother would find out what was happening to me at school, she would often say “what were you doing to make a kids treat you that way and why aren’t you fighting back?” There was something in me as a kid that thought that I was above duking it out on the schoolyard.

It was terrifying. It was really scary when groups of kids wanted to beat me up and when she was interrogating mean asking what are you doing to make them treat you this way. I was just being myself. I was just doing what was most natural to me, so my mother’s reaction was the beginnings of me internalizing a tremendous amount of shame about who I was.

Shame is the belief that one is unlovable, that one is unworthy of connection. Guilt is I did something wrong, and shame is I am wrong. From an early age, I began to feel that it was wrong. I didn’t feel fully safe at school.

I didn’t feel fully safe at home, but where I did feel safe within my imagination. I loved to dance as a kid.

So I’m sitting in the therapist office, and I remember the therapist asked me if I know the difference between a boy and a girl, and in my infinite wisdom as a third grader I said there is no difference because in my mind at the time is everyone was telling me I was a boy but I felt like I was a girl so I reasoned that there is no difference.

I watched a lot of television as a kid, and I’d heard of this thing called doctor-patient privilege, so I thought that everything I said to the therapist was between me and the therapist, but apparently third graders do not

224 Appendix E Laverne Cox Lecture

have doctor patient privilege, so everything I said to the therapist my mother found out about, and she yelled at me “you’re a boy” and boys are this and girls are this and you can’t act this way.

It was a moment in my childhood where my gender was being policed not only by my classmates, by my teacher, by the therapist, but also by my mother. I continue to go to the therapist for a few more sessions, and eventually there was talk about injecting me with testosterone to make me more masculine. Luckily for me a red flag went out for my mother. Something didn’t seem quite right about injecting for 3rd grader with testosterone.

So we discontinued the therapy, but the damage is done.

The church was another place where I learned that who I was authentically was not only shameful, but was a sin. In sixth grade, I started to go through puberty, and this was a very challenging and scary time for me. I remember very distinctly thinking to myself I don’t want to grow up and turn into a man. The idea of that for me was just horrifying. Puberty happen to me anyway, and as puberty happen I realized I was attracted exclusively to boys, and everyone was telling me I was a boy, and I was like whatever and I was attracted to other boys, and I learned in church this is a sin, and so is another thing that I internalized as a tremendous amount of shame.

I remember that night I lay in my bed, and I remember thinking that she (grandmother) was up in heaven looking down on me, and I imagine that she knew everything that I was thinking. Thoughts that I thought were sinful thoughts about other boys, and I remember imagining that she was extremely disappointed in me, and the idea of disappointing her made me not want to live. And so I went to our medicine cabinet, and took an entire bottle of pills, and went to sleep hoping not to wake up. I did wake up the next day with a terrible stomach ache, and I remember when I survived saying to myself that I would

Appendix E Laverne Cox Lecture 225

do everything I can to push down his feelings. I would do everything that I can to act the way that I’m supposed to so that I can make everybody proud.

I think it’s important to note that 41% of all transgender people report having attempted suicide. 41% compared to 1% of the rest of the population.

In my efforts to push down my gender and sexuality in middle school I became an overachiever I became a straight A student. I was a member of the Junior National Honor Society. I was public speaking champion in 8th grade Empathy is the antidote to shame.

When I got to high school I needed to express my femininity so I started to wear girls’ clothes. I became a frequent customer of the salvation army store where I would get my girls clothes I started to wear make-up, and I started to exist in this gender non-conforming space. I graduate from high school and I went to Indiana University. I got a dance and academic scholarship to IU Bloomington, and went there for 2 years before I transferred to Marymount Manhattan College, and finally I was in new York city.

Based on everything I had heard in the media and everything I had heard growing up in my church, I did not associate being transgender with being successful. And then I actually met real-life transgender people and all the ideas I had about who transgender people are started to melt and I came to accept these trans folks on their own terms and eventually came to accept myself.

And I believe that can be the journey for each and every one of us about people who are different from us. If we just get to know these people as people, I believe those misconceptions will melt away.

It is really frustrating when the world does not see you how you see yourself.

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I have come to believe after all these years that calling a transgender woman a man is an act of violence. Often when these moments have happened in my life when I have been miss-gendered in this was there has been violence attached and often I was made to feel very unsafe in public space. These folks were attempting to call me out as something I wasn’t.

He took the fact that I had the audacity to leave my apartment as myself as an invitation to invoke a tone where the subtext was like this threat like yeah lets fight, and I was just walking down the street as myself.

There was another moment in 2008. I passed this group of young men near my apartment in midtown Manhattan, and as I passed this group of young men I heard antigay slurs I heard anti trans slurs one of them yelled that’s a man, and then one of them kicked me. When this happened, I remember being kind of stunned for a momen.t I was like this just really happened to me, and I immediately retreated into a nearby store and called the police A lot of trans people do not feel comfortable reporting acts of violence to the police. Often we are re-victimized and are criminalized by the police.

Far too often the murders of trans women go unsolved. We are only a few weeks into 2015, and already there are at least 8 reported deaths of trans people, all trans women of color. Black lives matter and trans lives matter. There is consistently an epidemic. As long as there have been statistics, there have been extremely high rates of homicide of trans gender people, particularly trans women of color experiencing the highest rates of homicide, and there has not been new coverage of it.

Often times, marginalized groups police each other.

Hurt people hurt people.

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The question for me is how to we begin to create spaces of healing.

So how do we begin to create spaces of healing from the pain of dealing with discrimination and oppression so we don’t take that pain out on each other?

Pronouns matter by the way, when we talk with transgender people pronouns matter There was a moment about a year and a half ago. I was going to a health center that caters to the LGBT community, and this had never happened to me but this particular day, I’m waiting in the exam room, and the nurse comes in and says “hi my name is David. I identify as male, and my preferred pronouns are he and him.

How ‘bout you?” I love that because it creates a safe space for people to identify on their own terms.

We have to learn of to have difficult conversation across difference, but we have to do it with a lot of love and a lot of empathy.

We create safe space so we can take risk We are shamed as kids when we want to reach for a doll, and I think as parents we need to let our kids reach for whatever feels natural.

Gender is social constructed.

I think we can create spaces of gender self-determination where people can reach for what they want to reach for without judgment, without shaming, without any of that stuff.

In response to question “based on your experiences with bullying, what can we do to make our school safe spaces for everyone?”

I think part of it is having some public policy in place some anti-bullying legislation so there’s some kind of policy that helps.

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But then obviously we know that just because there’s a policy or there’s a law, it does not mean that the hearts and minds of people have been changed. At the end of the day, we have to begin to imagine a gender revolution where we begin to really think differently, and it’s a tall order. It’s about beginning to imaging a world beyond the binary model, a world that has 55 genders according to Facebook, and more so that it’s really about individuals defining themselves on their own terms, and there not being judgments and repercussions because of that. And then having teachers that are really educated around this to support kids who are experiencing issues so they can go to them, having parents to go to so there is accountability when bullying does happen.

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