Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Panel: Strategies for Professional Success for Women in Engineering and Science.

The ERE Club hosted a panel discussion November 15, 2017, featuring current ERE graduate student Meghan Mussehl, who studied engineering at the all women's Smith College (with work experience between and throughout); ERE Advisory Council Chair and ERE alumna Meghan Platt, a recent ERE alumna; Kiana Morse, and ESF GPES alumna Hayley Effler, who both work for local engineering firms; and SU alumna Meghan Gilbert, who works for the DEC. Questions were drafted by ERE Club President Isabelle Horvath, who moderated the panel.  ERE Chair Ted Endreny welcomed the panelists, introduced and thanked Ms. Horvath, and then stepped out to encourage more candid discussion. 

Panelists echoed the empowerment brunch’s mention of the importance of mentors, strong role models, and people who told them they could do it.   Each of the panel shared instances where their recommendations were discounted until reiterated by a male colleague or supervisor, one sharing the this came more from within an organization with the common refrain “are you sure?  Did you do enough research?” while male colleagues similar recommendation would be accepted without those questions.  They have been catcalled on jobsites.  Gilbert returned the workforce after “off-ramping” to care for one of her children; Platt went part-time to better balance work and family, and notes that part-time options have become more common, without the “you won’t go anywhere” stigma that used to come with that.  She notes that men also use the flex-time options.  Others shared that particularly in private firms, that with laptops and cell phones, there is quite a bit of work that can be taken home (DEC was the exception;  all work must be done on DEC computers, phones, cameras, as they are subject to seizure through FOIL).  Their closing advice to the students:  say it with authority, believe in yourself, find yourself a mentor. 


Sunday, November 12, 2017

3rd Annual Empowerment Brunch: opportunity and amplification

The Baobab Society and USA (with a little help from the ESF Women's Caucus) hosted the 3rd
Annual EMPOWERMENT BRUNCH on November 12, 2017.  Elissa Johnson, Food Science (SU) keynoted (food is a social justice issue); panel with Dr. Rebecca Gardner, Upstate; Dr. Marie-Odile Fortier, ESF-FNRM; Dr. Malika Carter, ESF; and Jason Bonet, an undergrad in Conservation Biology.  Laura Crandall was presented an award for (among other things) her work empowering students through the Leadership Training series. 

Take home messages from keynote and panel: mentor matter; sheer representation is not enough, need to think about systemic change; those with privilege can amplify the voices of those without.  Empowerment comes from within but also from community, equal treatment and opportunity—including assumptions about income potential, transformative power sharing. language matters.  Choose battles.
Baobab members also used “conversation mapping” for everyone to weigh in on questions like “What is Empowerment”, “How can men be allies”, “how to encourage women to pursue STEM”, “how to encourage women of color to pursue STEM.”  Participants were encouraged to write responses, and star those that resonated.  Baobab members then shared some of them, including:  allies can listen and give credit, and empower coworkers so they aren’t overburdened with the “representation” tasks; mentors share stories of success and failure, media shows science as elitist and inaccessible so we are challenged to make it relevant; acknowledge women’s contributions to STEM, don’t sexualize nerdiness, build better pathways for girls providing quality education preK on up. Images are available at:  https://www.instagram.com/p/BbaBD8QB7_Y/?taken-by=thebaobabsociety


Friday, October 6, 2017

Community Celebrations


Email from Chief Diversity Officer Malika Carter, to all students and campusnews:
Dear ESF Community,

The crisp air and changing leaves tell us that autumn is upon us. And with that comes Halloween and the many ways some observe this festive event. If you choose to participate in Halloween festivities, please be thoughtful and respectful when celebrating.

In particular, please keep in mind that certain Halloween costumes inappropriately perpetuate racial, cultural, and gender stereotypes. Although it may not be the intent, these costumes, and choosing to wear them, can depict identities in ways that are offensive or hurtful to others. Please take care in selecting your Halloween costumes. And, as always, keep in mind the potential for social media posts to have a long-term impact on your reputation.

Halloween is just one occasion on a broad continuum where we all benefit from acting with an understanding of the concepts of diversity, inclusion, equity, and respect. At ESF, we work to foster a campus climate that supports these values, and we seek to weave them into the life and work of every member of our community.

We appreciate your commitment to these values in your choices for daily life and as you celebrate Halloween.

Please post this notice in community spaces for the benefit of individuals without regular access to email.

Be well and be safe.

Dr. Malika Carter, Chief Diversity Officer


Endorsed By:
ESF Professionals of Color

[Drawn from an open letter from Katrice Albert and Danita Brown Young]

This material is available in alternative formats. Please direct comments/inquiries to:
Malika Carter, Ph.D., Chief Diversity Officer, SUNY ESF at mcarte06@esf.edu

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Bathrooms, revisited


A Message from the President



Dear ESF Community,

A major priority of the College in the coming year will be to further address issues of accessibility, equity, and inclusion. This comprises several areas of concern, including increased compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), better access to all our facilities for members of our community and visitors-both here on the main campus and at our regional properties-and enhanced spaces that exemplify equality for all people. Equitable access to restrooms is one of the most important components of an elevated focus on accessibility.

Last academic year I directed our Physical Plant and Facilities unit to accelerate their activity to address the current inequitable situation in regard to the disproportionate availability of restrooms for women, and to provide more gender-inclusive options. Academic Governance, our Leadership Council, student governance groups, and others identified this very important need as well. Please see the memo below on this issue from Rex Giardine, our associate facilities program coordinator, and please recognize the changes being proposed are only our first step toward a much more comprehensive and College-wide solution.

I encourage you to share your thoughts on this proposal with Rex.


My Regards, Quentin Wheeler


TO: ESF Community
FROM: Rex Giardine, Associate Facilities Program Coordinator
DATE: August 8, 2017
RE: Campus - Toilet Room Change Initiatives

Consistent with ESF's commitment to diversity and to better accommodate our campus' demographics, several changes to existing toilet room designations are proposed. We recognize that the changes noted below do not completely address this issue either here on our main campus or at our regional properties. This is only the first phase of improvements; additional changes will follow this phase. The changes proposed, for implementation in the coming weeks, include the following:
Gateway Building
The men's and women's single-occupant toilet rooms on Floor 2 (near the elevator) will both be designated as gender-inclusive.
Illick Hall
Illick was constructed in the late 1960's with the higher number of men's toilet facilities reflective of the disproportionate number of men on campus at that time. As a measure to begin to create a balance indicative of the current ESF main campus demographic, the following changes are proposed in Illick Hall:
The existing men's rooms on Floors 1 and 4 will be designated as women's rooms. The existing women's room on Floor 4 will be designated as a single occupant, gender-inclusive restroom. This room has a lockable door

Feedback concerning the proposed changes will be accepted through August 16. It is our goal to implement accepted changes Monday, August 21, 2017.

Temporary informative signage will be installed at each restroom approximately one week ahead of the change, and maintained until occupants and visitors to the building become accustomed to these new designations.

A directive by President Wheeler, recommendations for bathroom equity outlined in a recent Academic Governance resolution, and requests made by both undergraduate and graduate students, as well as other faculty and staff members, are the major catalysts for these changes. There are additional measures in design to create ADA-compliant, single-occupant, gender-inclusive toilet rooms in both Illick Hall and Moon Library, with construction anticipated to take place during the 2017-2018 academic year.

Again, this is only one step in a larger effort that will address this important issue throughout all ESF properties.

Questions and comments regarding these initiatives should be directed to Rex Giardine in Physical Plant and Facilities at rgiardin@esf.edu or 315-470-6731.

Monday, June 19, 2017

Program ideas and strategies from other women in natural resources



Christel Kern, Laura Kenefic, and Susan Stout, who co-authored Bridging the Gender Gap: The demographics of scientists in the USDA Forest Service and academia were in Syracuse last week to take part in Silviculture 2017.   We took advantage of this convergence to discuss their collaborative work, and the programs at the individual colleges with whom they are affiliated, and to share with them some of the programs at ESF. Preliminary findings were shared during a prior visit:  http://esfwomen.blogspot.com/2011/04/summary-influences-on-scientists-career.html 

Workplace Culture Learning Community (Forest Service):
--Monthly conference calls amongst Forest Service personnel.  Participants take turns picking topic, choosing literature or TED (and similar) type talks to discuss.  End each session with strategies.
--Sample topic:  “horizontal hostility” or the Queen Bee phenomenon.
…Strategy for appropriation:  Joke about it in a really light hearted tone “thanks for taking credit for my idea!  Are you going to claim (something ridiculous) as well?)

Supporting Women in Forestry Today (SWIFT) at UMaine:  “Small-scale discussions with large-scale implications”
--informal, to meet, support, mentor and share strategies.  Break-out groups, return to larger group to share strategies.
--participants come from a variety of departments and levels (mix of undergrads, grads and faculty/staff at program)
--Each meeting begins with ground rules (assume positive intent, don’t be afraid of silence, speak from personal experience, be aware of and try to avoid stereotyping….)
--Topics discussed:  imposter syndrome, confidence gap, lean-in, strategies for enter the labor force, campus climate survey, meet and greet, advocates and allies, self-advocacy, identifying and challenging discrimination, role-playing, field tours
--Assessed impacts:  90% of respondents became more aware of biases since attending SWIFT meetings, 80% gained new skills or strategies (call self out on imposter syndrome), 100% developed connections with women in other departments, citing “safe space” to communicate with others and comfort realizing they were not alone
--Future:  adaptive management framework, more topics, involving others (recognizing mixed feelings in doing so)
…Strategy:  Know terms for phenomena, this is empowering!  (experience is less likely to be perceived as an outlier); faculty need to be more aware of what students know.  Jargon is a huge barrier, as is expectation that rural experience is universal
…prompted a story from a different person, who recalled being told about not wanting to mow lawn because of a rabbit’s nests, but not relating, not because of anything about bunnies or ground nesters  but because at that time, they knew no one with their own lawn

Pathways Program and Presidential Management Fellows
….gateways to many federal jobs, and the latter program also provides some leadership training

Book Club comprised of the few women in one of the remote Forest Service office’s (Wisconsin)  AND other women that work nearby—
… Strategy: “Thank and Yank”—when someone else takes (or is given) credit, sincere “thank you for reiterating my idea” and bring it back to that focal point

ESF Women’s Caucus
-- topically, have much in common with above
-- Perspectives on Career and Gender is for credit, so more formal and more limited reach. 
-- Used to do more informal as well, would like to do more of these, especially in the fall (opposite above class & WiSE Professions Speaker Series) and with student and faculty/staff affinity groups.  Build in meetings in conjunction with other events?  Look for opportunities to collaborate with CDO (once announced and here), bring back SU Advance to share what they’ve learned and developed since they spoke about early program developments (http://esfwomen.blogspot.com/2012/02/garland-and-alestalo-transforming.html)
…. strategy:  Amplification.  This is a parallel to “Thank and yank” when another person, rather than the Original Speaker, says “that’s very similar to what Original Speaker said—Original Speaker, tell us more!”  Another usage maybe when trusted colleagues preview and suspect it will be naysayed in meeting (and appropriated later):  “That sounds like it has great potential—can you tell us more about …..”

Mentoring discussion ensued:
--Does it matter if mentors female?  Can have wonderful (or crappy) mentors across gender spectrum.  Someone with some similarity to you validates your experiences.  But may also find this with someone with other types of differences.  The caveat:  formal mentoring programs often don’t work. 


Suggested readings:
Kern, Christel C.; Kenefic, Laura S.; Stout, Susan L. 2015. Bridging the Gender Gap: The demographics of scientists in the USDA Forest Service and academia. BioScience. 65: 1165-1172.
Kramer, Andrea S; Harris, Alton B.  2016.  Breaking Through Bias: Communication Techniques for Women to Succeed at Work.  Taylor and Francis
Sharik, Terry L. 2015.  Diversifying Student Demographics in Forestry and Related Natural Resources Disciplines.  Journal of Forestry 113(6): 579-580
SAF Diversity and Inclusion Working Group.  2017.  Strategies for increasing diversity and inclusion at SAF meetings.  Forestry Source 22(6):  17, 21

Heather
HEATHER ENGELMAN
Instructional Support 
FNRM Equipment Room and
WiSE Professions & Take our Kids to Work Day 
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
415 Bray Hall (Mail:  320 Bray Hall)
1 Forestry Dr, Syracuse, NY 13210
315.470.4752 | 
7 315.470.6535 engelman@esf.edu
http://www.esf.edu/faculty/engelman/



Saturday, April 29, 2017

Girls' Summit: Kids Day for the Community

For years, the most common request received regarding Kids Day was “Can you extend the age range?”  Unfortunately, our school/work days are constrained by room availability and class schedules.  It has also proven difficult to increase the number of groups, increase group sizes across the board and to increase the range of ages within a group.  Thus, when Girls Inc. approached a few years ago, we realized that there was another way to accomplish this, and simultaneously increase our reach.  We worked with Girls Inc, C-STEP, SU STEP and with support of individuals in student Affairs and Outreach to plan and execute the 3rd Annual CNY Girls Summit STEAM Career Conference at ESF for area middle and high school girls on April 29, 2017. 

Of the eight workshops offered during the program, half had very close ESF ties. Alumna Ms. Tiffany Brookins-Little, now with Bristol Myers-Sqibb, steered participants though a fermentation exercise.  ESF SCIENCE staff led exercises in watershed modeling and with wind turbines.   In addition, our students delivered the keynote address (Madison Morely) and joined the College Preparation Panel (Alana Lindsey and Shewa Shwani) with moderator Mel Menon and students from Upstate Medical University, FM High School/ESF in the High School, and Le Moyne College.  They also served as “Group Guides,” along with students from other institutions and community members (all vetted as per the SUNY Child Protection Policy).  We changed the age-range slightly this year, to focus on grades that can build on their experience next year through SU STEP (or similar program that works with their home schools) and the ESF in the High School program.   

Post-workshop surveys indicated that participants left with a greater interest in science and math than when they arrived. They were introduced to new careers as well; 88% rated the topics as important to them, and 98% rated the overall program as interesting and the experience as good to excellent.  Despite the school-day length of the program, 20% of the suggestions called for more or longer sessions, saddened the schedule only allowed four workshops each.

Thursday, April 27, 2017

24th Annual Take our Kids to Work Day


Program schedule:  Click here to view photo album 

In conjunction with the national Take our Daughters and Sons to Work Day® effort, the ESF Women's Caucus hosted ESF's children, grandchildren, nieces, friends and neighbors from 16 area schools for the 24th annual program, April 27, 2017, with 8-11 yr old participants registered from 16 different area schools.  On tap for the day:
 Chemistry, kids made "Fluffy Slime" with Ms. Joy Logan, Chemistry. They modeled and tested Watersheds with Ms Molly Welsh, Grad Program in Env Science  & Ms Meghan Mussehl, Env Resource Engineering, visualizing how landforms and vegetation alter water flow, and what that water picks up in transit. Open Hand Theater's Mr. Peter Fekete helped kids think quick and through Improv games. After finding out how plants can be used to draw contaminants from soil through a process called phytoremediation, kids potted up pansies or tomatoes, and toured the Greenhouses during the Wonders of Plants with Dr Lee Newman, Env & For Bio. For STEM & Scientific Method, Dr Gary Scott, Paper & Bioprocess Eng, engaged participants in a series of short experiments to test their predictions, and discuss why or why not, made adjustments, and continued on. By participating in this iterative process, they saw how "failure" is also a learning opportunity--often more interesting than when everything simply falls into place!
In Natural Building: Getting Muddy, Ms Sasha Batorsky, MS student studying Sustainable Construction in the Department of Forest & Natural Resources Management, had kids make "cob" (still used today, in a process very similar to that demonstrated in The Ten Commandments), a stone wall, and used "The Shake Test" to separate soil into its components. Dr. Jaime Mirowsky discussed and demonstrated Air Pollution & Health Effects through an asthma simulation, and measuring airborne particulates.


Special thanks to:  Presenters (and their Supervisors, Department chairs or advisors) and our Volunteers. ALUMNI RELATIONS and the ESF CAMPUS BOOKSTORE, magnets and pins; COMMUNICATIONS, pencils and tattoos; PROVOST’s OFFICE and ESF WOMEN’S CAUCUS, lunch, bags and color printing; PHYSICAL PLANT and TRAILHEAD CAFE (MORRISVILLE AUXILLIARY SERVICES), set & clean up; COPY CENTER, B/W printing; and HEATHER ENGELMAN, for program and supply coordination.

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Antibiotic Resistance as an Environmental Contaminant


As part of the requirements of FOR /496797, Perspectives on Career and Gender, student share responsibility for reporting on the WiSE Professions Speaker Series.  The following was prepared by Stacy Furgal, a MS student in EFB.

              Dr. Amy Pruden, of Virginia Tech, presented her research relating to antibiotic resistance and opportunistic pathogens as environmental contaminants on Tuesday, April 26.  This lecture was part of SUNY ESF’s Women in Science and Environmental Professions Spring Seminar Series.

              The lecture focused on the problem of antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs) and opportunistic pathogens (OPs) found in our water (both municipal and well), and the potential problems this could cause from a public health perspective. The water infrastructure in our country is antiquated and aging, and poorly suited to address these new contaminant issues. Current regulatory monitoring requirements do not apply to ARGs and OPs, but rather were designed with ingestion exposure type pathogens, like Cholera, in mind. Now the primary sources of water associated outbreaks are like Legionnaires’ Disease, which is acquired via breathing in particles that contain the bacteria, not ingesting infected water.

With that in mind, her multidisciplinary team is working to blend engineering and biology to find solutions to this complex issue. Dr. Pruden explained, using some of her and her colleagues’ work in Flint, MI, an examples. As most people know, a crisis occurred in Flint when the source for city drinking water was switched from Lake Michigan to the Flint River. The water from the Flint River had a higher salinity content, which corroded the pipes and caused lead to leach out into the water. Less well known is that this also released iron that acted as fuel for Legionella bacteria to grow. Her team investigated the increased number of reported cases of Legionnaires’ Disease and was able to link it to the corroded pipes through genetic markers.

Her team was also involved in a project that compared the amount of ARGs and OPs in regular potable water versus water that had been treated and reused, or  “recycled.” The study found that recycled water had more microbial activity, and more abundance and diversity of ARGs. It was also clear that the water tested at the water treatment facility had a different “resistome” (collection of ARGs) than water coming out of a tap in a home receiving water from that facility.

Both of Dr. Pruden’s studies highlighted that there should be a shared responsibility between utilities (water treatment facilities) and homeowners. Water quality at the point of use, i.e. in homes, is of the greatest concern to public health. Using a holistic approach, we need new frameworks and updated mitigation strategies to handle the new and emerging issue of antibiotic resistant genes and opportunistic pathogens. This is best done by a multidisciplinary team, like Dr. Pruden’s, that brings biologists, engineers, chemists, utility managers, and more, together to tackle the problem.

Dr. Pruden received her B.S. in Biology and Ph.D. in Environmental Science from University of Cincinnati. She is a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Associate Dean and Director of Interdisciplinary Graduate Education in the Graduate School at Virginia Tech, as well as a W. Thomas Rice Professor. She serves as the Director of Strategic Planning for the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Sciences Water Sustainability Thrust, is an Associate Editor for the journal Biodegradation, and serves on an advisory panel on Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) in recycled water. Dr. Pruden has published more than 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters on subjects pertaining to bioremediation, pathogens, and antibiotic resistance.

For more information about the Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series, please visit http://www.esf.edu/womenscaucus/speakers.htm .

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Bathroom Equity Resolution and Discussion, Academic Governance Meeting


At the April 18, 2017 Academic Governance Meeting, in discussion of a Resolution on Bathroom Equity, the college was asked to examine the distribution of on-campus bathrooms, and report back at the May 11 meeting ("Issue of all gender restrooms has been received and discussed and they are aggressively pursuing how to fix these issues.").  Haley Kim, of the Daily Orange, followed up with some of those that spoke:  

SUNY-ESF passes resolution to increase bathroom equity, targeting gender and accessibility



  

The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry’s Academic Governance body recently passed a resolution, 44-11, calling for bathroom equity on campus. Faculty have said a lack of accessibility has plagued SUNY-ESF for years, leaving some students — especially transgender students — often feeling uncomfortable using the bathrooms.
The resolution asks the administration to conduct a bathroom audit, change the signage of some bathrooms in the Gateway Center, renovate and re-designate other bathrooms across campus and write a policy to improve bathroom equity for future buildings.
“The excuses that I hear are our buildings are old and we don’t have a lot of money, and lack of money in different places, but at some point we need to invest in the comfort in the people that work here,” said Kelley Donaghy, an associate professor of chemistry and one of the co-writers of the resolution.
The administration is to present its results of the study and plans for renovation by May 11, the next Academic Governance meeting. While President Quentin Wheeler has expressed support for the resolution, nothing has been done yet to Donaghy’s knowledge, she said.
In Illick Hall, there are 38 places for men to use the bathroom, while only eight for women, according to the resolution. Many of ESF’s buildings were constructed when the campus was predominantly male, the resolution notes, but now the campus sees “more balanced diversity of genders.” Additionally, not all restrooms are Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant, Donaghy said.
The discussion for a resolution only came this semester, though. Donaghy said she was inspired by the film “Hidden Figures,” where one of the main characters, who is black, is forced to walk across campus to use the bathroom because of segregation.
Knowing that many transgender students at SUNY-ESF don’t feel comfortable using the restrooms, Donaghy went to the chemistry department and suggested changing Jahn Laboratory’s third floor women’s restroom into an all-gender bathroom.
While most of the women on the floor supported the change, it was blocked because of a code rule about bathroom equity — the building couldn’t change over a women’s bathroom without changing over a men’s, Donaghy said.
Instead, Sierra Jech, a graduate chemistry student, came up with the idea to change both the men’s and women’s first floor bathrooms in Jahn to all-gender bathrooms, Donaghy said. They created a petition that reached close to 300 signatures.
“We wanted to show the chemistry department that more than just chemistry students would be using the restroom, and we also wanted to show that there was widespread support,” Jech said.
SUNY-ESF’s Undergraduate Student Association voted in support of both the petition and resolution, said Ben Taylor, the organization’s president. The association previously passed a resolution calling for more gender-inclusive bathroom spaces. The issue hasn’t been contentious among students, Taylor said.
But the resolution was debated at the Academic Governance meeting, said Heidi Webb, library technician at ESF and one of the co-writers of the resolution. One of the biggest pushbacks has been over the bathroom codes for buildings.
Brian Boothroyd, assistant director of physical plant for facilities at ESF, who spoke at the meeting, said he is in support of the resolution but added that it’s not as simple as just changing the signs on the doors. While this is a priority and some changes might be easy to make, there needs to be a deeper evaluation of other facilities before major renovations happen, he said.
“A change to accommodate one group might negatively affect another group that we don’t even know of yet,” Boothroyd said.

But Donaghy and Webb argue that there are some bathrooms that can be changed immediately. In Gateway, there are two single-occupancy bathrooms — one labeled for men and the other women — that they said could easily be relabeled. Changing these bathrooms was one of the key points in the resolution.
“Since we have these two single-stall bathrooms that are lockable from the inside,” Donaghy said, “… Why is this even a concern? It should have been done the day after the resolution.”
Another concern was that some of the bathrooms, like the ones in Jahn, were multi-stall. The resolution cites other SUNY campuses with all-gender bathrooms, like SUNY Stony Brook, Geneseo and Oneonta. At the meeting, those arguing against the changes brought up concerns of hygiene and safety.
Janine DeBaise, an instructor of writing and literature classes at ESF, said some of these arguments are “absurd” and that there are no mysterious hygiene issues — men and women can share bathrooms, just like in family homes, she said.
People also argued that women might not feel safe using the same facility as men. Webb said there are holes in this argument, though, and she dislikes it because it says that men can’t control themselves.
“If women don’t feel safe, that’s a larger issue and we need to figure why they don’t feel safe,” Webb said. “It has to be they don’t feel safe beyond the bathroom too, right?”
While most of the SUNY-ESF campus — across faculty, staff and students — seem in support of increasing bathroom equity across campus, Donaghy said that those against the proposal need to consider how it could increase comfort for many on campus.
“When someone says to me, ‘I’m uncomfortable with this,’” Donaghy said, “I want to just say, ‘But other people are uncomfortable with our current circumstances too. Why is your comfort more important?’”

RESOLUTION TO REQUEST BATHROOM EQUITY ON ESF’S MAIN CAMPUS

Sponsored by the Executive Committee of Academic Governance

Whereas it is acknowledged that some of our buildings are old and were built when the campus gender demographic was predominately male; and

Whereas the gender demographic on this campus has changed significantly since, approaching a more balanced diversity of genders; and

Whereas a recent bathroom audit of Illick Hall revealed that men have 38 places (urinals and toilets) to relieve themselves and women only have 8; and

Whereas it was recently calculated that women in Illick Hall routinely lose approximately 40 minutes a month either waiting in line for a stall or walking between floors or to another building and often cannot use a facility between classes; and

Whereas genderIspecific bathrooms present problems for parents needing to travel with differently gendered children and disabled people with differently gendered attendants; and

Whereas there are buildings on campus without ADA accessible bathrooms for both genders or at least one all gender fully accessible bathroom and many bathrooms currently designated as handicap accessible are likely only minimally accessible; and

Whereas there are currently few facilities on the SUNYIESF campus where individuals not on the gender binary, transgender, gender nonIconforming, or transitioning individuals are comfortable “Peeing in Peace”;1 and

Whereas a recent petition requesting that the first floor men’s and women’s multiIstall bathrooms in the Jahn Laboratory which has a wealth of bathrooms having been constructed after 1993, be reIdesignated as all gender was signed by approximately 275 (and counting) community members; and


Whereas the Jahn Chemistry Faculty passed a motion in support of all gender bathrooms but requesting that the College investigate the renovation of existing bathrooms including the cost and impacts on students, faculty and staff; and

Whereas the Undergraduate Student Association passed Resolution 05.2015: A Resolution Recommending the SUNYIESF Administration Implement Gender Inclusive Spaces; and

Whereas at the 172nd Plenary of the SUNY University Faculty Senate a resolution was passed recommending the SUNY Wide Implementation of Gender Inclusive Spaces;2 and

Whereas a new bill is being considered within the New York State Legislature “that would make all singleIoccupancy restrooms in public places gender neutral”;3 and

Whereas Syracuse and New York State include gender identity under Title VII, a Federal law that protects all employees from discrimination;4 and
Whereas the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published clear guidelines for “Best Practices, A guide to restrooms access for transgender workers” 5 ; and

Whereas OSHA also recommends that there be one water closet for every 15 employees6;

Therefore be it resolved that Academic Governance requests that ESF administration and the ESF Capital Planning Committee perform a bathroom audit that includes: assessing the current accessibility, availability, and ADA compliance of all handicap restrooms; investigating the cost and feasibility of renovating and reIdesignating the Jahn first floor bathrooms as all gender; reassigning some men’s bathrooms as women’s rooms in Illick Hall; and

Be it further resolved that Academic Governance requests that ESF administration charge physical plant with reIdesignating the second floor bathrooms located in the Gateway Building (side by side, singleIstall lockable for individual occupancy, men’s and women’s bathrooms) immediately and the change be advertised widely; and

Be it further resolved that Academic Governance requests that the ESF Administration and the Capital Planning Committee seek to achieve bathroom equity across campus by renovating and reI designating other bathrooms in other buildings; and

Be it further it resolved that Academic Governance requests that the ESF Administration create a policy to ensure that all new buildings constructed and all future renovations in existing buildings on the ESF campus be built with fully accessible all gender bathrooms, exclusively; and

Finally, be it resolved that Academic Governance requests that the ESF Administration and the Capital Planning Committee report the results of their study and their plans for renovation of current facilities at the May 2017 meeting of Academic Governance.

Approved and adopted the __________day of __________ 20____.


Vote:                                        Ayes:            _________ Nos: _________
Absent:                     _________

__________________________________________
Secretary of Academic Governance for the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry


1 Peeing in Peace, Transgender Law Center, transgenderlawcenter.org
2 SUNY UFS resolution on Gender Inclusive Spaces, http://system.suny.edu/media/suny/contentI assets/documents/facultyIsenate/plenary/172I02I1IGenderIInclusiveISpacesIResolution.pdf
3 NY Bill Proposed statewide requirement for gender neutral bathrooms, Geoff Herbert Syracuse.com
4 See below for Title VII resources and information
5 OSHA Best Practices Guide for Transgender Workers, https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3795.pdf
6OSHA Table J1 – designating the number of water closets for the number of employees, https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9790# 1910.141(g)(2)



ADDITIONAL RESOURCES


Syracuse local ordinance https://www.municode.com/library/ny/syracuse/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTLLOLA_C H8HURI_S8I4UNDIPR I

Most SUNY Schools have multiIstall all gender bathrooms some notable articles: Stony Brook: http://studentaffairs.stonybrook.edu/lgbtq/ourcampus/restrooms.html Geneseo: https://www.geneseo.edu/lgbtq/restrooms