Editorial: Pitt’s transgender policy needs revision

The Pitt News reported on Oct. 1 that the Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations denied…The Pitt News reported on Oct. 1 that the Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations denied Pitt’s motion to dismiss the Rainbow Alliance’s complaint about the University’s transgender policy.

Pitt’s current, unwritten transgender policy states that students must use gendered facilities according to the biological sex listed on their birth certificates.

Transgender students who want to use facilities for the sex not listed on their birth certificates must have sex-reassignment surgery and have their birth certificates changed.

In June, Pitt’s Rainbow Alliance, a student group that promotes the interests of the LGBTQ community, filed its original complaint that the University had committed “discriminatory practices related to public accommodation.” Pitt motioned for the complaint to be dismissed because it lacked sufficient evidence. In late July, the group filed a revised complaint, which contained more specific evidence of discrimination.

In several editorials last spring, The Pitt News wrote that this policy is regressive, discriminatory and unfairly handed down from the administration without students’ input. We strongly support changing Pitt’s transgender restroom policy to one that realistically takes transgender students’ needs into consideration.

We do not agree with the University’s argument that allowing transgender students freedom to choose restrooms increases the possibility of assault, because it is not based on fact. As Rainbow Alliance President Tricia Dougherty told The Pitt News last spring, banning transgender students from certain restrooms makes transgender students feel less safe and supported.

Although the administration is responsible for preventing assault on campus, the solution to risks is not the restriction of transgender students’ rights to appropriate facilities. One appropriate step toward a solution could be an increase in awareness and acceptance of LGBTQ students.

The University should consider both the policies and actions of other colleges and the advice of organizations that aim to create a safer place for transgender students on college campuses.

Pitt currently has only a couple of scattered gender-neutral restrooms (for example, there is one in Market Central, accessible only to those willing to pay for the privilege of entering the dining facility, and one in the Cathedral of Learning). Many other colleges known for having more progressive policies — including Carnegie Mellon, Indiana University at Bloomington and Ithaca University — have gender-neutral restrooms throughout campus. These colleges also have websites detailing where these restrooms are. Pitt neither provides a sufficient number of gender-neutral restrooms nor provides any official online information about them. Pitt also does not provide any sort of gender-neutral or gender-inclusive locker room options. The issue of locker rooms is perhaps more sensitive than the restroom issue, and we urge the University to consult experts to come up with appropriate accommodations.

Additionally, the national nonprofit Campus Pride, which seeks to create safer environments for LGBTQ students on college campuses, advises colleges to both establish a network of gender-neutral restrooms and to allow students to use the restroom for the gender that they identify with. They advise that students should not have to provide proof of surgery or a changed birth certificate before they are allowed to change their gender status with a university. Pitt should take the advice of nonprofits such as this one into consideration.

We applaud the Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations in denying Pitt’s motion to dismiss Rainbow Alliance’s complaint. Hopefully, the complaint served as a wake-up call to the University, and hopefully the Commission’s stance will force Pitt to re-examine its policy and usher in one that is fair and forward-thinking.