Unisex bathrooms will offer newfound privacy

The new three-story ACC campus, which will be opening in Fall 2006 at the intersection of Manchaca Road and Stassney Lane, will offer single occupancy unisex bathrooms, available to both male and female students, along with the traditional gender-specific bathrooms on every floor.

A number of building codes state that buildings of a certain size and with a certain number of people must offer additional bathrooms, said project director Robert Ryland. "This also ties into the Americans with Disabilities Act, and though handicap stalls are offered in the regular bathrooms, the single occupancy bathrooms will offer aid to the elderly and people with disabilities."

Although primarily designed for people with disabilities, the bathrooms also will offer relief and privacy to transgender students who are uncomfortable identifying themselves as male or female. Transgenders are people who present themselves as a member of the opposite sex other than which they were born. Sometimes they undergo surgery to change their gender, but those who do not often find they cannot use public restrooms.

"As a coordinator, and as a person, I know and have met [and] talked to plenty of people who do not feel comfortable identifying with a two-gender system," said Student Life coordinator Jessica Pabón. "I do not agree with the term 'regular [restrooms]' but would prefer to use the term 'socially acceptable,' [and] offering a unisex restroom is a step in a socially progressive direction."

Although the new campus offers unisex bathrooms, the other seven ACC campuses do not. Transgender students, along with lesbian, gays, and bisexuals have faced intimidation, violence and alienation for their gender and sexual orientation on college campuses across the nation. In a 1998 study conducted by psychologist Karen Franklin, 1 in 10 community college students admitted to committing acts of violence against gays and lesbians.

Thousands of people lobby for LGBTQ rights, and most schools have rules stating a person shall be treated equally no matter their gender and sexual orientation, but many colleges and universities do not have any policy stating private restrooms must be provided for transgender students.

"[America] has a [preventive] attitude about sexuality in general and the separation of sexes," said ACC human sexuality teacher Steve Rison. "We're living in a conservative era and need to move on."

The new South Austin campus is one of a small percentage of campuses around the nation to offer unisex bathrooms. Unless there are quotas stating schools need to provide additional bathrooms, students who are uncomfortable identifying themselves as part of the two common genders find themselves without a bathroom source on campus. With the implementation of the unisex bathroom at the South Austin campus, ACC will be joining ranks of a small handful of universities, among which are New York University, Ohio State University, University of California Los Angeles, and University of Southern Maine.

"It would be better to have [unisex] bathrooms," said ACC nursing student Linda Jones. "Not everyone is tolerant of transgender students and might have preconceived ideas that they're in the bathroom to watch people and see them in a sexual way."

Groups promoting LGBTQ rights lobby for tolerance and equality for all regardless of their sexual orientation and appearance. Nevertheless, many do not consider other issues that transgender students have to face such as finding a restroom they can use without having to worry about facing judgment from their peers.

For those who want to learn more about LGBTQ issues, the Office of Student Life at all ACC campuses can provide information through their Gender and Sexuality Program.