Gender-neutral restrooms have long been considered a social rights issue for those who identify as transgender, genderqueer, or outside of the gender binary. They are a part of the goal to end discrimination against people of any gender identity, and recently, it was announced that a unisex restroom will be established in CHS and will be opened for use on Monday, March 14.
The restroom is planned to be located in the 800 quad and will be transformed from an already existing girl’s restroom that has been closed for renovation. The implementation of this restroom on campus has long been a goal of CHS’ Gender Sexuality Alliance Club (GSA), who participated in some of the planning for the bathrooms. They hope that by having a restroom that is not strictly segregated by gender, any and all harassment will be significantly reduced.

“I think that having unisex bathrooms is a wonderful thing because it lets everyone have a comfortable place to use the restroom, which is a basic need that everyone should have,” said senior Sam Hengesbach, President of GSA. “I just worry that other students won’t understand and label it as just the transgender bathroom, and I hope we can educate them properly so that they could understand that it is an all-gender bathroom where everybody can be comfortable, and [it is] not a place where it’s okay to make fun of anyone.”

Not long ago in 2013, Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that required measures of accommodation to be taken for transgender and genderqueer students on school campuses, which includes the construction of unisex bathrooms and allowing students to use the restrooms that do not apply to their biological gender. This was a major change for California, as there are still states that explicitly prohibit unisex bathrooms.

As a result, the push for unisex restrooms has been occurring throughout the country on many college campuses, including several UC campuses. For example, UC Berkeley is now requiring all new buildings and all facilities undergoing renovations to include gender-neutral bathrooms. The ultimate goal is to have one gender-neutral restroom on all floors that have bathrooms, so that all students can feel respected regardless of their gender identity. CHS has a similar goal.

“I believe that whenever we can meet the diverse needs of our student body it is a positive development for the school,” Dr. O’Connor said.

The inclusion of unisex bathrooms at CHS is a positive development for the LGBT community on campus. Many hope that the inclusion of these bathrooms will provide safety to everyone, and not just gender-binary individuals.