Administration designates two gender-neutral restrooms in the A-Building

With the recent passing of House Bill 2, the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community is a hot topic in politics. The Chapel Hill High School administration has shown its support for the LGBTQ community by implementing its first two “all-gender restrooms” in the A building.

The gender-neutral bathrooms have one toilet and sink each and had previously been used as faculty restrooms, as they border the teachers’ lounge in A-122. Teachers now use converted student bathrooms with locks on the doors requiring a teacher identification card to enter.

Chapel Hill High School’s Queer Straight Alliance (QSA) has been advocating the necessity of the gender-neutral bathrooms for years and, since early 2015, has been actively pushing the administration to implement the bathrooms.

Former QSA club advisor and English teacher Danielle Cohen has been working with the group to promote the idea of gender-neutral bathrooms for about two years. She feels that the bathrooms will help make life easier for transgender students.

“If we are not in the situation [in which] we have to prove that we fit into a certain gender so that we can pee, then that makes the whole bladder emptying process a whole lot easier for everyone,” Cohen said.

Junior Grace Ingledue, an openly transgender student, has witnessed the impact that the bathrooms have on many Chapel Hill students in just a short period of time.

“Many of my friends are transgender, and they’ve all expressed how glad they are to have the new gender neutral bathrooms,” Ingledue said. “Also, I know some non-transgender people who aren’t comfortable in multiple-use bathrooms who have also benefited.”

Many non-transgender students also agree that the gender-neutral bathrooms are a positive addition to the school. Senior Sam Orenstein believes the bathrooms show progress, but that a change in attitude towards the transgender community is still necessary.

“The gender-neutral bathrooms are a big step forward for our school, but negative responses have demonstrated that discrimination towards trans people is still prevalent,” Orenstein said. “It’s disheartening to hear continued opposition or mockery toward the gender-neutral bathrooms.”

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jmnicotra@students.chccs.k12.nc.us