Get Herald RSSExcited rhetoric on both sides may obscure the issue, but the debate over gender-neutral facilities at Brown has a fairly straightforward problem at its core: Transgender students, who are among those in our community most vulnerable to abuse and discrimination, are not well-served by gender-segregated housing and other facilities. Greater flexibility for first-year housing and gender-neutral housing for upperclassmen deserve serious campus debate and consideration.
Taking the issue of gender-neutral housing and bathrooms seriously is difficult because, quite simply, we do not live in a gender-neutral society. Our language isn't equipped to deal with people who do not fit into the so-called "gender binary." Our society recognizes important and real differences between men and women. Allowing male and female students to live together is not the purpose of these changes. But the implications of that - and the potential that male and female students would be uncomfortable sharing a bathroom - are legitimate concerns.
Yet ultimately, as Interim Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Russell Carey '91 MA'06 points out, the purpose of gender-neutral facilities is "to provide choice and options so all students feel comfortable and safe in their living environment." The Human Rights Campaign notes that one expert estimates that transgender individuals in the United States have a one-in-12 chance of being murdered, compared with a one-in-18,000 chance for the general population. Brown is and should be a space of tolerance and respect. But between 2003 and 2005, there were 52 hate crimes on campus ranging from assault (reportable) to vandalism (non-reportable), according to Department of Public Safety data. We shouldn't delude ourselves into thinking that discrimination is a problem for other people.
