Construction workers recently laid tile and installed the first all-gender restroom in the University of Utah’s Language and Communication Building.

There are now more than 100 such restrooms across the U’s campus. Many have been installed since the Utah Legislature’s 2024 session, when it passed H.B. 257, which restricts which changing rooms transgender people can use in public buildings.

The bill, which Gov. Spencer Cox signed on Jan. 30, 2024, applies to changing rooms and restrooms adjacent to spaces like locker rooms, according to @theU, the university’s media relations site.

“H.B. 257 ended up not impacting the university as much as people thought it would, but that’s not to say there won’t be future legislation that would,” said Rebecca Walsh, communications director for the U.

The all-gender restrooms include family and single-stall restrooms, as well as multi-stall all-gender facilities — like the restroom on the first floor of the J. Willard Marriott Library. (The locations of all-gender restrooms can be found on the campus map by clicking on the three-line menu in the upper left corner, selecting “accessibility & safety” from the dropdown menu, then the “all gender restrooms” category.) 

The Marriott Library’s all-gender restroom includes multiple private stalls, with solid wooden doors positioned around a shared center sink area. The restroom has a modern design, with bright lighting and neutral tones that create a clean environment.

The Marriott restroom, Walsh said, “was built from the ground up to be that amazing facility that you see.” 

Since the bill passed, Walsh said, all-gender restrooms have been added to campus plans and renovated in existing buildings. According to @theU, many older buildings, such as Libby Gardner Hall and some on President’s Circle and Fort Douglas, do not have all-gender restrooms.

According to @theU, in 2022, the Inclusive Restroom Committee, made up of administrators from various departments, adopted design standards for University Facilities Management to consider converting new and renovated multi-stall restrooms to all-gender restrooms.

Walsh said since the Utah Legislature is still reviewing and updating state law regarding restrooms in public buildings, the university is taking a slow and cautious approach to converting these restrooms. 

“On the facilities side, with every new building that is opening on campus, we need to think about the needs of the public – who will be using the building as well as the students, staff and faculty and how we can accommodate their needs,” Walsh said. 

Walsh said the university has not yet established a timeline or quota.

H.B. 257 has specific prohibitions that apply to changing rooms in government-owned or government-controlled facilities open to the general public, according to a presentation created by the U with guidance from the Office of General Counsel. The term “changing room” is defined as a space for multiple people to dress or undress in the same space. The prohibitions also apply to restrooms that are within or attached to a changing room, according to the presentation. 

While the law does not require the university to modify existing restrooms or changing rooms, Walsh said there has been an increase in all-gender restrooms since the new prohibitions took effect earlier this year.

According to the Office of General Counsel presentation, the bill allows people to continue to use the restroom of their choice, regardless of gender identity. The university is not required to contact law enforcement if a person uses a sex-designated restroom that doesn’t align with the person’s sex assigned at birth, unless the restroom is attached or within a changing room, according to @theU.

Colin Baker, a gender studies major and local drag artist, said the new law has been on their mind. Baker recently worked with the Center for Community and Cultural Engagement, which absorbed the former LGBT Resource Center in July.

Baker said they appreciate the availability of all-gender restrooms in Gardner Commons, where they have a majority of their classes. 

Baker said that in the older business building, known as BUC, the gendered bathrooms were on separate floors, and the men’s restroom was missing stall doors at the time. Baker said they didn’t feel comfortable with the options presented, and would instead walk to a different building if they needed to go to the restroom during classes there. 

Gender studies major Juniper Nilsson, who exclusively uses all-gender restrooms, said she first heard about the bill during the Legislative session and felt “hopeful apprehension.” While she hoped the bill would lead to more inclusive restrooms, she said she feared it might result in a more restrictive ban.

“The hope was well warranted because we always need hope, but at the same time, it was good to be wary of the consequences so we wouldn’t be blindsided by [the bill],” Nilsson said. 

While students like Baker and Nilsson have had various experiences with all-gender restrooms on campus, the impact of these facilities goes beyond academic buildings. On-campus housing has also aimed to create a more inclusive living environment.

According to @theU, Housing and Residential Education offers students in on-campus housing the option to select their preferred room. Students can choose between male, female, or gender-inclusive rooms. 

“We welcome all students to live on campus, regardless of their gender identity,” said Rachel Aho, senior director of housing at the U.

According to @theU, campus housing does not have shared multi-user spaces, so all restroom spaces are either single-gender or designed for single users and available to people of any gender. 

Gender-inclusive rooms offer a supportive space for transgender, nonbinary, and LGBTQIA students seeking to connect with others, according to Housing & Residential Education. The office offers gender-inclusive housing rooms in each of the housing areas on campus, except for two upper campus Gateway Heights communities, Aho said.

This article was published from the University of Utah’s COMM 1610 class.