Most students at the Peterson Heritage Center walk into the bathroom of their choice without a second thought, but students like Alithia Zamantakis face a more difficult and anxiety-ridden decision.

“I identify as nonbinary transfeminine, so the ways in which I express my gender aren’t necessarily always legible as male or female,” said Zamantakis. “I need access to bathrooms that aren’t gendered as only for men or only for women.”

Zamantakis, a senior in gender studies and sociology and an Outreach Coordinator at the LGBT Resource Center, spent two years working for Housing and Residential Education (HRE) as a Resident Advisor. In the position, they regularly attended training events and meetings at the PHC without an easily accessible restroom. Each time, Zamantakis had to dress according to the available gendered restrooms and eventually shared their experience with HRE Director, Barb Remsburg.

“I emailed Barb and said, ‘this isn’t fair, I’m an employee and I deserve to have access to a restroom,’” Zamantakis said.

The lack of a gender-neutral bathroom, Remsburg said, was “an oversight that I wish we had thought about earlier.”

Once the need was identified, HRE brought in contractors and campus designers and plans were finalized and approved in July. While logistical issues delayed the original completion date, the PHC restroom is set to open “within days,” Remsburg said.

Location of the facility was specifically considered to prevent stigmatization. According to Remsburg, it needed to be placed next to existing bathrooms, not “tucked off in a corner.”

“If you have other restrooms in the area, providing a third option is just that, a third option,” Remsburg said.

Students, like Joshua Morrell, a freshman in electrical engineering, seem to support the project.

“There are already restrooms here, but if it makes it easier and more accessible for people, that’s good. It’s a step towards the future,” Morrell said.

Kira Kiko Lian, a student staffer at the LGBT Resource Center, believes gender-neutral bathrooms are necessities rather than conveniences.

“There’s what’s called ‘restroom anxiety,’” Lian said, “It’s a big, real thing that a lot of trans and gender non-conforming people face, due to discrimination or transphobia, or even the perception that this will occur.”

The new restroom will not be the first of its kind at the U and Lian believes more can be done.

“Apart from just doing the right thing and giving people access to something that seems like a very basic need, it is much easier and much less costly if you are incorporating that in your building as you build and plan,” Lian said.

Zamantakis clarifies the differences between all-gender and gender-neutral bathrooms, having a preference for the former. Rather than designating who can use a restroom, the sign on an all-gender restroom tells what can be accessed in the facility, such as urinals, tampon dispensaries or baby-changing tables.

“Constructing gender-neutral bathrooms costs thousands of dollars that you can put towards other things, whereas with all-gender restrooms you can just switch a sign,” Zamantakis said.

The cost estimate for the gender-neutral bathroom in the PHC, funded by Replacement and Renewal, was around $42,000.

HRE plans to include all-gender areas into the Lassonde Studios. These spaces were incorporated into the Marriott Honors Community and the new law building.

For individuals requiring these resources, the LGBT Resource Center’s website provides a map of gender-neutral facilities on campus.

[email protected]
@NikiVenugopal