Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
University of Maryland University Senate still reviewing gender identity bill after being proposed more than a year ago
On August 19th, 2014, almost 16 months ago, a bill was proposed to the University of Maryland University Senate in regards to providing and updating personal information on how students are known on campus. This bill is still under review.
Bill ID 14-15-03, Policies and Procedures Governing Preferred/Primary Names and Sex/Gender Markers in University Databases, was sponsored by Dr. Luke Jensen, the Director of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Equity Center at the University of Maryland. He's responsible for a lot of the basic framework that supports LGBT people and LGBT work on campus.
The Senate proposal talks about names first, and that discusses the ability of an individual to use a name other than their legal name. The bill will allow people to change their name more seamlessly.
The next part of the bill is on identifying oneself as male or female. This section talks about how a person should address someone and the pronouns used to identify an individual.
The bill states that "[the University of Maryland] should provide greater flexibility regarding gender." For instance, the bill declares that "[b]oth employees and students should have the same ability to update their gender and sex information."
Advocates pushing for change to University of Maryland undergraduate admissions application
Jensen is a strong advocate for providing a gender option on the University of Maryland application, as it is beneficial for data collection.
"We can better serve students if we know who they are and how they identify," Jensen said. "If a student doesn't identify as male or female, and if you start right off the bat lying about who they are, then it's not a very welcoming environment."
Jensen adds that it is known that LGBT people struggle in higher education and, obviously, kindergarten through 12th grade, but it is impossible to know how students are doing at Maryland because the question about their gender identity or sexual orientation is not asked.
The infograhics below show the statistics from the last three fall semesters on the University of Maryland's undergraduate summary of new freshman and the university's student profile on total enrollment.
Nick Sakurai, the Director of Leadership Initiatives in the LGBT Equity Center, says that it's important to ask people about their gender identity or sexual orientation.
Currently, Maryland's application only has two gender options: male or female. There's also no specific question regarding sexual orientation.
Like Jensen, Sakurai indicates that it can be very problematic for students who are forced to choose a gender that they don't identify as.
Jensen says that the university sends admitted undergraduates an optional survey where they can choose their sexuality and can indicate whether they are transgender or not.
University of California, rival Big 10 schools allowing more opportunities for students to express their gender identity and sexual orientation
While the University of Maryland has been behind on including a gender option on their application, other schools across the United States "have been adding or changing [their] gender identity and sexual orientation options," according to an article from Maryland's independent student newspaper The Diamondback.
This past summer, the University of California added six gender identity choices on their college admissions applications. The choices include:
 |
| Source: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/uk-proprosal-britains- first-school-lgbt-pupils-revealed-1483628#slideshow/1385812 |
The Senate proposal talks about names first, and that discusses the ability of an individual to use a name other than their legal name. The bill will allow people to change their name more seamlessly.
The next part of the bill is on identifying oneself as male or female. This section talks about how a person should address someone and the pronouns used to identify an individual.
The bill states that "[the University of Maryland] should provide greater flexibility regarding gender." For instance, the bill declares that "[b]oth employees and students should have the same ability to update their gender and sex information."
Advocates pushing for change to University of Maryland undergraduate admissions application
Jensen is a strong advocate for providing a gender option on the University of Maryland application, as it is beneficial for data collection.
"We can better serve students if we know who they are and how they identify," Jensen said. "If a student doesn't identify as male or female, and if you start right off the bat lying about who they are, then it's not a very welcoming environment."
Jensen adds that it is known that LGBT people struggle in higher education and, obviously, kindergarten through 12th grade, but it is impossible to know how students are doing at Maryland because the question about their gender identity or sexual orientation is not asked.
The infograhics below show the statistics from the last three fall semesters on the University of Maryland's undergraduate summary of new freshman and the university's student profile on total enrollment.
 |
| Source: https://www.irpa.umd.edu/CampusCounts/index.html |
 |
| Source: https://www.irpa.umd.edu/CampusCounts/index.html |
Not calculated into the numbers in the LGBT community. This is where the data from a gender identity option on the admissions application would be beneficial in seeing where the LGBT community stands.
Nick Sakurai, the Director of Leadership Initiatives in the LGBT Equity Center, says that it's important to ask people about their gender identity or sexual orientation.
Currently, Maryland's application only has two gender options: male or female. There's also no specific question regarding sexual orientation.
Like Jensen, Sakurai indicates that it can be very problematic for students who are forced to choose a gender that they don't identify as.
Jensen says that the university sends admitted undergraduates an optional survey where they can choose their sexuality and can indicate whether they are transgender or not.
University of California, rival Big 10 schools allowing more opportunities for students to express their gender identity and sexual orientation
While the University of Maryland has been behind on including a gender option on their application, other schools across the United States "have been adding or changing [their] gender identity and sexual orientation options," according to an article from Maryland's independent student newspaper The Diamondback.
This past summer, the University of California added six gender identity choices on their college admissions applications. The choices include:
- Male
- Female
- Trans Male/Trans Man
- Trans Female/Trans Woman
- Gender Queer/Gender Non-Conforming
- Different Identity
The application also has a question: "Do you consider yourself to be (mark one answer): Heterosexual or straight, Gay or lesbian, Bisexual, Not listed above (please specify) __________."
Additionally, the California application asks students, "What sex were you assigned at birth, such as on your birth certificate?" The options for that question are either male or female.
Two Big 10 Conference schools that provide gender identity and sexual orientation options on their applications are the Ohio State University and the University of Iowa.
Ohio State and Iowa both ask the optional question, "Do you identify as a part of the LGBTQ community?" Iowa also allows students to identify their gender as male, female, or transgender.
Another Big 10 school, Purdue University, like Maryland, sends admitted undergraduate students an optional survey where they can choose their gender identity (choices: man, woman, transgender man/trans man, transgender woman/trans woman, gender queer, prefer not to disclose, and not listed) and their sexual orientation (choices [more than one can be chosen]: asexual, bisexual, gay, straight/heterosexual, lesbian, pansexual, queer, questioning, same-gender loving, two spirit, prefer to not disclose, and not listed).
Campus Pride Index gives University of Maryland one of the highest ratings in the nation for their support for the LGBT community
Despite lacking gender identity and sexual orientation options on their admissions applications, the University of Maryland is a top 25 LGBT-friendly institution, according to Campus Pride Index.
"The Campus Pride Index provides campuses the opportunity to come out as LGBTQ-friendly and take responsibility for continually improving their LGBTQ campus climate." It also "features LGBTQ student opportunities by highlighting the positive work within higher education."
The University of Maryland has received exceptional sexual orientation and gender identity scores in almost all the categories. The high ratings were in:
Ohio State and Iowa both ask the optional question, "Do you identify as a part of the LGBTQ community?" Iowa also allows students to identify their gender as male, female, or transgender.
Another Big 10 school, Purdue University, like Maryland, sends admitted undergraduate students an optional survey where they can choose their gender identity (choices: man, woman, transgender man/trans man, transgender woman/trans woman, gender queer, prefer not to disclose, and not listed) and their sexual orientation (choices [more than one can be chosen]: asexual, bisexual, gay, straight/heterosexual, lesbian, pansexual, queer, questioning, same-gender loving, two spirit, prefer to not disclose, and not listed).
Jensen believes that it is about time that Maryland adds a gender option to their undergraduate admissions application because it will create a more welcoming climate for people.
Campus Pride Index gives University of Maryland one of the highest ratings in the nation for their support for the LGBT community
Despite lacking gender identity and sexual orientation options on their admissions applications, the University of Maryland is a top 25 LGBT-friendly institution, according to Campus Pride Index.
"The Campus Pride Index provides campuses the opportunity to come out as LGBTQ-friendly and take responsibility for continually improving their LGBTQ campus climate." It also "features LGBTQ student opportunities by highlighting the positive work within higher education."
The University of Maryland has received exceptional sexual orientation and gender identity scores in almost all the categories. The high ratings were in:
- LGBTQ Policy Inclusion
- LGBTQ Support and Institutional Commitment
- LGBTQ Academic Life
- LGBTQ Student Life
- LGBTQ Campus Safety
- LGBTQ Counseling and Health
- LGBTQ Recruitment and Retention Efforts
The only category that is lacking compared to the other categories was in LGBTQ Housing and Residence Life.
 |
| Source: http://www.campusprideindex.org/campuses/details/ 15?campus=university-of-maryland,-college-park |
While Maryland has gender-inclusive housing for new students, gender-inclusive housing for returning students, and the school trains the residence life and housing staff at all levels on LGBTQ issues and concerns, it does not incorporate:
- LGBTQ living space, theme floors and/or living-learning community
- Roommate matching for LGBTQ students to find LGBTQ-friendly roommate
- Gender-inclusive/single occupancy restroom facilities in campus housing
- Gender-inclusive/single occupancy shower facilities in campus housing
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