UC System Approves Gender-Neutral Restrooms
Video by Julia Bakerink and Danica Ceballos
The University of California president announced a new policy Monday that requires existing single-stall bathrooms on each of the 10 campuses to be available to people of any gender. The implementation of single-stall restrooms into new and renovated buildings will also be considered in the future.
The new policy is a result of recommendations from a task force working to create a more inclusive environment for LGBTQ students and staff at UC campuses.
“Inclusiveness has always been an important value at UC,” said Pamela Brown, UC Vice President of Institutional Research and Academic Planning. “The establishment of a new advisory council ensures that we will continue to find ways and seek places where we can make improvements to the experiences of LGBT members of our community.”
President Janet Napolitano also announced students will be allowed to list preferred names in addition to their legal names on school records. This change is an extension of an existing policy at campuses including UC Berkeley and UC Riverside.
Meanwhile at USC, there are 13 gender-neutral restrooms as well as LGBTQ housing options. The university was listed as one of the most LGTBQ accepting campuses in the 2014 Campus Pride Index.
The LGBT Resource Center maps out the gender-neutral bathrooms on campus below:
People also took to social media to voice their opinions on the change:
