By Julianna Moreland
In a move towards an inclusive campus, William Peace University has quietly transitioned some of its bathrooms into all-gender facilities. The double-stalled bathrooms in buildings Finch and Frazier have been converted, complete with deadbolts on the main doors and signs reminding people to lock the door.
“As part of the University’s ongoing effort to be inclusive, multiple restrooms on campus have been designated as All Gender facilities,” said John Cranham, Associate Vice President for Buildings and Grounds.
The transition to all-gender bathrooms on campus and the absence of an official announcement from the administration has left some students divided.
“We now know to lock the door behind ourselves when using the bathroom, but the process of recognizing the change was uncomfortable, to say the least,” said Francesca Diaz Del Olmo Calvo, a WPU sophomore.
The push for all-gender bathrooms has been a nationwide movement, driven by the need to create spaces for individuals of all gender identities.
Laws and regulations regarding gender-inclusive facilities can vary by state. In North Carolina, the issue of gender-neutral bathrooms gained attention in recent years due to House Bill 2 (HB2), which required individuals to use public restrooms that corresponded with the gender on their birth certificate.
This law, which passed in 2016, faced opposition and ultimately resulted in a repeal in 2017 allowing local governments to regulate bathroom access.
In other words, WPU has more latitude in determining its policies compared to public universities, since it is not subject to the general assembly.
In light of the above, a survey was conducted with 35 WPU students to gauge campus feelings on the transition to all-gender bathrooms.
Surprise change
Ninety-one percent of participants in the survey said that they were not made aware by administration that some bathrooms would be changing to all-gender bathrooms. Of the responses, 48.6% said that they feel it is important to be made aware of this change, while 45.7% do not care whether they are made aware or not.
While the survey was evenly split, many students reasoned that some notice of the change would have been appreciated. These responses ranged from wanting a large notice, to a small announcement and in one case a call for the switch to have been a democratic vote.
The students who felt they should’ve been made aware of the change reasoned that the administration has a duty to make students aware of changes on campus. Simply having notice could prevent them from feeling uncomfortable.
Split opinions
The survey concluded that 37.1% of students support all-gender bathrooms on campus, while 40% do not care and 22.9% do not support all-gender bathrooms on campus.
Despite respondents being evenly divided concerning the administration’s lack of announcement, many do not feel that the all-gender bathrooms create other areas of concern.
Fifty-one percent of respondents feel that the all-gender bathrooms do not interfere with their privacy.
“There are still several gender-specific bathrooms and even the gender-neutral ones still lock from the main door. So students are still not in the situation of using a bathroom that puts them in a situation that makes them uncomfortable,” said junior Caitlin Corll.
However, some students are worried about their level of comfort when using the bathrooms without locking the main door.
“As a man going into a bathroom at the same time as a woman could be looked at as predatory or stalking. I don’t need to catch a criminal case for trying to go pee,” said sophomore James Weller.
Seen below is the verbatim response from the University:
“As part of the University’s ongoing effort to be inclusive, multiple restrooms on campus have been designated as All Gender facilities. Signage is in the process of being changed. All Gender restrooms include facilities that everyone may use, regardless of their gender identity or expression. It is important to provide these spaces to facilitate a welcoming environment to all, allow assistance by personal care attendants, have family friendly spaces, and to provide a safe space for individuals who may face discomfort, threats or even violence in traditional public restrooms.
The All Gender restrooms are intended for single occupant use and have locks to facilitate privacy and safety. Some buildings do not have public restrooms and some will not be able to have All Gender restrooms due to current building design.”