Friends,
At a meeting recently,
it came to my attention that there are almost no All Gender bathrooms on
campus, that even single stall bathrooms are still designated as single
gender and cannot be re-designated. At this meeting it was pointed out
that some of our community members who are transgender, not on the gender
binary, gender non-comforming or transition were uncomfortable using a rest
room and would wait all day to return home. So why aren’t all the
single-stall bathrooms designated as “all gender” you ask? Apparently
there is a law that requires that if one single gendered bathroom is
re-designated then the opposite single gendered bathroom must be also. As
many of you know in some of our buildings at ESF we have a dearth of
bathrooms, and in many of the oder buildings the bathrooms were converted men’s
rooms to women’s rooms. And sometimes there aren’t equal numbers of mens
and women’s rooms at all so that has made re-designating these rooms difficult
to impossible.
In the Jahn and Baker
complex due to the youth of the building or the recent renovations there is a
plethora of bathrooms. These restrooms are not single-stall bathrooms
but there are men’s and women’s rooms on each floor. Sierra Jech, Heidi
Webb and myself have written the attached petition to request that the
multi-stall first floor women’s and men’s rooms on the first floor of Jahn be
re-designated as All Gender bathrooms. These bathrooms are extremely
accessible and within 30 steps of a set of single gender bathrooms in Baker
Laboratory and about 150 feet from single gender bathrooms in Gateway - all on
the same level, no elevators or steps required. There will no doubt need
to be some remodeling but we feel that we need to make the request to get the
conversation started. I know that not everyone is comforatble with a
multi–stall All Gender bathroom but for some, this will be a huge relief and
for visitors a sign of our inclusivity. Further, there is precedent at
other SUNY schools. Personally, I hope that on a campus where many
students in field classes are told that the rest room is the nearest bush, this
initiative will find wide support.
Sierra, myself and
others will be tabling next week in Gateway and if you’d like to sign the
proposal we would appreciate your assistance, we will be there hopefully
Wednesday and Thursday. Additionally, you are welcome to come to my
office and sign. Or you can send me an email indicating your support, or
print the PDF, sign the document, scan it and email it back or even electronically
sign it and return. I don’t know how many signatures it will take or what
the next steps will be, but all the support we can get will help as we move
this forward.
Thank you,
Kelley
Kelley J. Donaghy, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of
Chemistry
Immediate Past Executive
Chair of Academic Governance
SUNY Senator
Director of the
Environmental Scholars Program
315 Jahn Laboratory
1 Forestry Drive
SUNY College of
Environmental Science and Forestry
Syracuse, NY 13210
RESOLUTION TO RE--‐DESIGNATE
THE MEN’S AND WOMEN’S BATHROOMS ON THE FIRST FLOOR OF JAHN LABORATORY AS ALL GENDER
Whereas a new
bill is being considered within the New York State Legislature “that would make
all single--‐ occupancy restrooms in public places gender neutral”;1 and
Whereas gender--‐specific
bathrooms present problems for parents with differently gendered children and disabled
people with differently gendered attendants; and
Whereas there
are currently few facilities on the SUNY--‐ESF campus where individuals not on the
gender binary, transgender, gender non--‐conforming, or transitioning individuals
are comfortable “Peeing in Peace”;2 and
Whereas the
Jahn Laboratory has a wealth of bathrooms having been constructed after 1993 and
having both men's and women’s rooms on at least four floors; and
Whereas the
first floor of Jahn Laboratory is connected by the sky bridge to Baker Laboratory
and therefore additional men’s and women’s rooms are within approximately 30 steps
of and located on the same floors as the first floor Jahn Laboratory bathrooms;
and
Whereas the
first floor of Jahn Laboratory is centrally located, wheelchair accessible from
the Campus Drive entrance, open on weekends when the computer clusters are open,
and is a high traffic area;
Therefore be
it resolved that the chemistry department and other concerned SUNY--‐ESF community
members request that the SUNY--‐ESF Administration re--‐designate the multi--‐stall
men's and women’s bathrooms on the first floor of Jahn laboratory as All Gender
bathrooms. We would also request that the urinals in the men’s bathroom be enclosed
or at a minimum a sign indicating “unenclosed urinals may be in use” be prominently
displayed.
We believe that
having a multi--‐stall bathroom re--‐designated sends a strong message to our community
that all people are welcome within the chemistry department and would be a strong
step toward an inclusive and accessible campus.
1 NY Bill Proposed statewide
requirement for gender
neutral bathrooms, Geoff Herbert Syracuse.com
2 Peeing in Peace, Transgender
Law Center, transgenderlawcenter.org
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