5 minute read
Finding Common Ground
Boston University often prides itself on being a university that promotes diversity and inclusivity of all students no matter race, gender or sexuality. Just walking around campus you can see the variety of people that attend BU and the ways in which we take a community of people who are very different and find common ground.
Despite the openness of the university to include students of all backgrounds, there is still the need to accommodate students with resources that make them feel safe to be who they are—whether that’s women, transgender, queer, non-binary or however a student may identify. There’s a responsibility for not just the school as a whole, but also the faculty and the students to educate themselves and maintain an open mind.
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“I think that we should create environments that are safe and welcoming to all people regardless of background,” said Jamie Weinand (MED’17), who in recent years came out as a transgender man. “We are not prioritizing a certain group of people, rather we prioritize respect and safety as fundamental issues. It is unfortunate that certain communities may be discriminated against more than others, so then by default that may appear like certain groups need more services to reach the same mission of safety and respect for all.”
According to BU Today, BU took its first steps to increase inclusivity of students in 2013 when they introduced gender-neutral housing. Gender-neutral housing allows students to have the choice to choose a roommate of the opposite sex. Although this option is a step in the right direction, gender-neutral housing is not open to freshmen and isn’t offered in Claflin, Rich or Sleeper Hall, Warren Towers, The Towers or Myles Annex. This option should be available for freshmen as it would provide a welcoming, comfortable environment when they first move on campus.
TAIRE MCCOBB (CFA ’19) TRANSGENDER MAN PRONOUNS: HE/HIM
Most of the buildings on our campus are older, so they have traditional men and women restrooms. However, in 2015, a group of students in the Questrom School of Business started a project that advocated for the implementation of all-gender restrooms on the third floor of the college.
India Mazzarelli (Questrom ’17), one of the students who participated in the project, said that one of her group mates who was passionate about the issue suggested it as an idea for their project. At the outset, many of the group members, including Mazzarelli, didn’t understand the impact the project would have; changing the bathroom sign can seem simple, but it’s actually much deeper than that.
“I didn’t understand [the complexity] at first, but by the end of it, he [the student who proposed the project] explained that gender isn’t black and white; it’s a spectrum,” said Mazzarelli.
The addition of gender-neutral bathrooms is less about the changing of signs, but more about allowing people of all genders to feel that they are supported in struggles they may have with defining their gender identity.
Gender-neutral bathrooms should be implemented in every building and Mazzarelli believes that it’s the students who must take the initiative and push for what they want. The fact that Questrom, a college that Mazzarelli notes as one of the more conservative schools on campus, converted restrooms to all-gender should be a precedent for other schools on campus and in the country to do the same.
“I think it had a bigger impact than you might think,” said Mazzarelli. “You don’t have to measure the impact for it to have an impact.”
Some students took initiative in another way by creating the student-run Center for Gender, Sexuality and Activism, formerly known as the Women’s Resource Center, which is located in the basement of George Sherman Union. According to Amber Petrig (CAS ’18), the Volunteer Coordinator at CGSA, the name was changed in an effort to be more inclusive and provide resources and a safe environment for more students than just women. The center provides a haven for marginalized groups, a place that they feel they can go and be themselves without judgement.
“I think it is important for BU to be inclusive of all students, and to make extra effort to ensure policies and communities are inclusive of students from marginalized groups, such as those in the LGBTQ community,” said Stacy Ulrich, the Director of the Office of Student Programs and Leadership and the faculty advisor for the Trans and Gender Variant Listening Circle. “The CGSA is one resource and community that provides a safer and welcoming space for LGBTQ students.”
DEV BLAIR (CFA ’19) NON-BINARY FEMME PRONOUNS: THEY/THEM OR SHE/HER
JAMIE WEINAND (MED ’17) TRANSGENDER MAN PRONOUNS: HE/HIM
The CGSA not only houses the Trans and Gender Variant Listening Circle, but also other student groups like Q, Feminist Collective, Students for Justice in Palestine and Alliance for Students With Disabilities.
When it comes to support, the experience varies. Some seek support in groups like the Trans and Variant Listening Circle, some get it from their peers and professors and others don’t feel like they have it at all. But, as a university, on both the main and medical campus, the faculty and students are working to make students feel welcome and accepted.
“I hope word gets out that BU Medical School is very accepting in respect to my own personal experience coming out as transgender,” said Weinand. “I had and have unwavering support from faculty and staff at all levels of administration and in all different departments.” Support is key when trying to make students feel that they are included and should feel as though they have people to open up to. But when you don’t hear or see something often it doesn’t resonate with you as much. These issues that marginalized groups face, especially within the LGBTQ community, need to be more directly addressed and the resources that they can utilize need to grow in accessibility and visibility.
“I would love to see a centralized digital resource (such as a webpage) for LGBTQ students, especially those who identify as trans or gender non-conforming,” said Ulrich. “This resource could advertise all of the gender-neutral bathrooms on campus, the processes for name changes at BU, how to access health services and how to best find housing accommodations that align with a student’s gender identity. It could also provide some education for faculty and staff about how to best support LGBTQ students.”
Educating ourselves about LGBTQ issues, racial issues, gender issues, etc. is significant because even if we feel that the issues don’t affect us personally, they do affect someone. By providing support and being knowledgeable about these issues, we create a safer environment for all students—not just some.
At a time when it is so easy to divide ourselves by the things that make us different, it’s a much better use of our time to embrace people from all walks of life and provide the support that everyone deserves as human beings. What we have done so far as a university for inclusivity is great, but there is always more to be done.
BY ARIANA QUIHUIZ | PHOTOGRAPHY BY CALLIE AHLGRIM | DESIGN BY JAMI RUBIN
