YOUR VOICE: All-gender restrooms on campus
UHCL recently announced efforts to create all-gender restrooms in various locations across campus. The Signal asked for your thoughts on the development of the restrooms in our last newsletter!
Many responses indicated support for the upcoming restrooms, noting the importance of access to such spaces for gender non-conforming community members. Some responses expressed criticism and/or concerns about the development of all-gender restrooms.
Amber Claussen, psychology major: “I think that it will add more restroom access to those who need it, when they need it, no matter who they are. I think its great.”
John Roy, engineering major: “This is great for mothers/fathers who bring their children on-campus as long as it has a single stall. I think this is normally called a family restroom.”
Erica Werner, environmental science major: “It leads to promiscuity and has been proven that sexual predators will frequent those bathrooms.”
Sirena Gonzalez, education major: “I think that this is an important inclusion to the UHCL campus. There was previously a gender neutral restroom in the Bayou Building that they took away for some reason. I was very upset by seeing that, and it made me feel unseen as a non-binary student. However, I do approve that the new restrooms will focus on being accessible. This project has been in talks for a while and I am ready for it to come to pass.”
Stacy Schreiber, department assistant for the office of sponsored programs: “Extremely happy and proud of the university for taking another step toward inclusion and protecting the rights and quality of life of individuals who literally had to fight to use the bathroom in a public facility! It is about time.”
Madelyne Arevalo, graduate student: “A true display of community. UHCL is showing they care about all their students. As they should!”
Christal Seahorn, associate professor of writing: “I think it is about time for this change. UHCL should support the safety and well-being of our students, and providing all-gender restrooms is a simple step towards the inclusion values we propose in our mission statement.”
Lauren Henry, civil engineering major: “It’s unnecessary to make such an announcement and virtue signaling to make sure everyone knows how progressive you are. It’s much less obnoxious when you just do things like this instead of congratulating yourself for being so woke.”
Sarah Sepolio, family therapy graduate student: “LOVE THIS! As a mother to a gender queer teen, I see firsthand how schools and companies discriminate and the consequences of these actions. My child does not feel safe in most places because of this, so I am proud of UHCL for making this small, yet needed move in the right direction.”
Dillon Nash, assistant director for the office of student involvement and leadership: “I think it’s amazing and a great step to a more inclusive campus.”
Carla Bradley, alumna, digital media studies: “This is great! UHCL had a reputation for being inclusive and fairly supportive of LGBTQIA+ issues when I was a student so its a good move for them to build restrooms for people of all genders. We should view these new spaces like we do with “family restrooms.” People upset by this need to get over themselves, handle their business and move on with their day.”
Responses are listed in the order they were submitted.
