SLCC unisex restrooms

The Standard of Liberty
For God,Religion,Family,Freedom
A publication of The Standard of Liberty Foundation
www.standardofliberty.org
May 25, 2007

Unisex Restrooms On Every Campus

The article below, from the SLCC Globe newspaper, was transcribed and reported to us by our friend Cory Seegmiller. It describes how SLCC is installing new restrooms to accommodate transgender people who are having sex change operations and want their own places to go. It is an outrageous giving in to perverse ideologies.

We suggest, after you read the article, that you call or write SLCC President Cynthia Bioteau, 801-957-4225, cbioteau@mymail.slcc.edu; and Vice President of Student Services Deneece Huftailin, 801-957-4336, dhuftali@mymail.slcc.edu. Ask them to cancel the plans for the transgender restrooms. We don't need 3 restrooms for 2 sexes. They will tell you they had students and teachers ask for them, and that families can use them. Don't be put off. Little children can be taken into restrooms with parents. This is accommodating sick sexual behavior and mindsets. We don't have to take it. They should be accountable to us, the citizens.

The Globe
By: Shar Brannam, campus reporter
Thursday, April 12, 2007

All SLCC campuses will soon have gender-neutral restrooms, some of them with the privacy of single-person occupancy.

According to Gordon Storrs, Master Planning coordinator at SLCC and past co-advisor of Coloring Outside the Lines, the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender student club at SLCC, the restrooms make sense for two reasons. The first is that parents aren't always able to accompany their opposite-gender young children to a public restroom.

The other reason for the need for unisex restrooms is for people who are transgender.

Earlier this year at the Redwood campus, a male-born transgender student was touching up her makeup in the women's restroom and a complaint was issued.

"MaryEtta [Chase] happened to be around, otherwise they would have arrested this person," said Storrs.

Chase is the assistant registrar at SLCC and the current co-advisor of Coloring Outside the Lines.

"I found something [as] simple as every person needs a restroom turn to something very misunderstood," Chase said. "Where are the restrooms for transgender and transexual persons at SLCC?" Chases' concern turned to action when Deneece Huftalin, vice president of Student Affairs organized a committee with key persons at SLCC. The goal of the committee is to provide one unisex restroom at every major building at the Redwood campus and one restroom per campus at all other SLCC campuses.

Chase’s goal as an initial committee member is to have a safe and comfortable restroom for all staff, students, faculty and guests at SLCC--including transgender persons.

"While the majority of people take for granted the right to use a public restroom, there are some who fear this every time. Can you imagine?" said Chase.

Definitions of "transgender" are varied. Some individuals choose hormones to more closely match their physical body to the psychological gender identity and others use a combination of hormones and surgery. Others use neither. Still others don't necessarily view themselves as decidedly one sex or the other, having a more fluid gender identity. All of them are potential victims of public embarrassment or worse.

Those who do opt for surgery must go through intense psychological counseling before gaining approval for the surgery. Then a program of hormone therapy begins to change their body features.

"They generally have to live a year as the sex that they want to become--that they think they are already," said Storrs. The one-year requirement stems from the enormity of the decision.

"Some people are born literally in the wrong body. They just never feel comfortable in the sex that shows on the outside," said Storrs.

Both Storrs and Chase fear for the safety of transgender people using the restrooms at SLCC.

"If someone male is transitioning to female, they dress as female. If they go into the male restroom they stand a chance of not only getting arrested, but hurt," Storrs said.

"And if it's a male changing to female, they go into the female restroom and everybody's nervous and offended and they call the police. So the person transitioning can't go anyplace," Storrs said.

Storrs is pleased with the decision to create unisex restrooms at SLCC.

"That's a very sensitive thing for them all to do. To realize we have students on campus that don't feel safe," said Storrs. He added that he believes SLCC is generally a safe place for gay, lesbian and transgender people.

The Student Code of Conduct prohibits any kind of ill treatment toward any student at SLCC and specifies that the college is "committed to equitable, civil and concerned treatment of all individuals regardless of age, gender, race, color, national origin, disabling conditions, religion, sexual orientation or veteran status."
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