Sandra Wenceslao: Course on LGBT issues for new students vital in light of recent events

Gender-inclusive restrooms should be an unquestionable right, not a topic of debate.

Recently, there has been an ongoing debate on gender-inclusive restrooms instigated by a North Carolina bill that forces people to use the restroom corresponding to their biological sex, regardless of their gender identity. While the majority of the debate over this bill is happening online between proponents of the gender-inclusive restrooms and their opponents, this conflict has also manifested itself at UCLA.

For example, a photo surfaced in which three UCLA students shamelessly express their opinion about the newly implemented policy and the transgender community with posters that read, “Get your agenda out of my restroom!” along with other negative views. However, allies defending the transgender community have also emerged. For example, the California State Assembly has recently passed an all-gender bathroom bill mandating that all single-occupancy restrooms be open to all genders.

While the bill is the right thing to do, there should not be a debate over gender-inclusive restrooms for the general public. Transgender individuals should be treated just like cisgender people, without questioning what restroom they should use.

The ongoing debate is a manifestation of the anxieties that have surfaced. The recent debates make one thing clear: People must become educated about the transgender community.

The most effective way to educate everyone on widely debated topics such as gender-inclusive restrooms is to create a mandatory course in all higher education facilities. Before students start UCLA, they’re required to take online courses on adapting to college life and how to responsibly consume alcohol. The UCLA New Student and Transition Programs should require students to take a course that touches the topics of the LGBT community and other time-relevant topics.

With informational courses regarding heated topics, students will become more aware of what they fully understand and what can be clarified, like the struggles and obstacles people in the transgender community go through. Having students who are more educated about topics pertaining to the transgender and overall LGBT community doesn’t just create more sensible people, but more well-rounded leaders of the future.

Educational courses can pique students’ curiosity and lead them to on-campus resources, such as the UCLA LGBT Campus Resource Center and Transgender UCLA Pride, or TransUP, for more information. These courses can also help students who are struggling with their own gender and sexual identity. The courses can aid UCLA in making it inclusive in every sense of the word by teaching students how to respectfully address a topic and ask questions that have risen from the information in the course.

“If there are issues that you don’t understand or aren’t clear on, the best thing to do is ask about them,” said Emil Chang, a leader of TransUP.

Informing people would dissolve the majority of the arguments present now. The arguments opposing gender-inclusive restroom policies are based on misinformation or the lack of education people have regarding the transgender community. More specifically, people against gender-inclusive restrooms seem to worry that there might be an increase in sexual assault cases.

As an ABC article pointed out, sexual assault will remain sexual assault regardless of this new policy. A new course would help students understand that the transgender community is not to be blamed for sexual assault.

“Fear of an opportunity cannot influence a policy that can result to be fundamentally unconstitutional and unjust,” said Aubrey Sassoon, co-coordinator of TransUP. “There isn’t any more protection with or without these policies.”

The fear of the “what if” scenarios that can play out in public spaces is not a legitimate reason to deny the transgender community their right to feel comfortable being who they truly are. Transgender people have the right to feel comfortable wherever they are, whether it be in a fitting room to try on jeans or a in a restroom to do their business.

The scenarios that people fear will come of this change are unjustified. No one truly knows what awaits. No matter what might come of it, transgender people have the right to feel as comfortable as cisgender people.

It’s essential to have discussions with an open mind and have a constructive dialogue, Chang said.

Educational courses regarding the transgender community should revolve around the experiences it goes through. Through this course, students should become aware of the obstacles and struggles transgender people must overcome. By understanding what the transgender community, and the overall LGBT community, goes through, students would learn to become more accepting and understanding. And by becoming educated on these issues, there is a possibility that people would think before they start jumping to false conclusions. This would create a safer environment for everyone involved.

“The transgender community is small, and we can’t do everything on our own, so it’s important for supporters and allies to be able to help us out and take a stand,” Chang said.

Change in policy allows the transgender community to not only feel comfortable, but also access a right that was once denied to them. Better education will only help secure their place in society.