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discrimination Brittany Lee Reporting
UVic students create genderneutral washrooms Brittany Lee News staff
Walking into the former men’s washroom in the Student Union Building at the University of Victoria, two partitions separate three bathroom stalls from the urinals. Two formerly gendered washrooms in the SUB have opened as multi-stall gender inclusive facilities, allowing men, women, and transgendered people to share the same space. “We’re doing this in order to create safe spaces for everyone, because everyone deserves to go to the washroom without fear of harassment or discrimination,” said Emily Rogers, chairperson of the UVic Students’ Society.
The washrooms, which opened a as gender inclusive space Aug. 29, now have a picture of a toilet on the door rather than a symbol of a male or female. UVic is the first campus on the Island to adopt the multi-stall concept. The washrooms are for everybody’s use, Rogers said, noting they also creates a safe and accessible space for families and caretakers. Rogers hopes the initiative, originally started by UVic Pride about two years ago, will be the start of a larger social movement. “It’s one step to combatting institutionalized transphobia and gender-based discrimination,” she said. “And we hope this will be a symptom of a larger social change and conception of how people view gender and view public spaces.” The initiative will act as a catalyst for education, Ariel Tseng, director of finance and operations of the UVSS, added.
Inside ■ Students returning to UVic this week were greeted by picketing employees. News /A7 ■ The idea of gender-neutral washrooms needs to be taken a step further. Our View /A8
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“These washrooms are not just a great space but it’s a really good opportunity for people to learn more and take a moment to think about why these washrooms are gender inclusive.” The washrooms, estimated to cost $5,000, are not only an accomplishment for UVic but for the greater community, according to Dylyn Wilkinson, representative from UVic Pride. Wilkinson said he’s been harassed in gendered washrooms because of the way he looks and often only felt safe using single stall, or handicap, washrooms. “What people can learn from this is ultimately everyone needs a safe place to pee. That’s really all anyone wants to do, is to be able to do their business without fear of their safety,” he said. Feedback from students has been positive so far, however, there has been some shock. “There are some confused looks at first but people are generally pretty supportive once they realize what’s up,” Rogers said. While the society does not have current plans to include more multi-stall facilities on campus, it has been a conversation they’ve had with the university. “We’d love to see the university follow suit,” Rogers said. editor@vicnews.com
Sharon Tiffin/News staff
Eight-year-old Bernard Brelsford reacts to a fall while skim boarding at Gonzales Beach while siblings, nine-year-old Elzbea and Herlande look on. Children of all ages are enjoying the last days of summer on local beaches. Environment Canada is predicting warm, sunny weather throughout the weekend. Summer, we suppose, isn’t done yet.
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