The day East High School students returned from the winter break, we were all hunted by discouraging 12-foot stalls, the most important emotion of disturbance of girls. It was like visiting a new exhibition in the zoo – everyone in high school had to see this. The corridors were busy when we looked in turn to see what the majority of the students had not been informed, would take place during our break.
On January 16, 9News reported In the new gender-neutral toilet that subsequently attracted the attention of the new Trump government that is now conducting a study based on the fact that Title IX of the Civil Rights Act has been violated. According to the United States court, Title IX says that “no person in the United States, on the basis of sex, is excluded from participation in, the benefits of or are subject to discrimination under an education program or federal financial assistance activity. “
Moreover, the US Department of Education has solved that “Title IX of the Education Change of 1972 and the implementation regulations are clear: a recipient of federal funds, such as the district, ‘can offer a separate toilet, dressing room and shower facilities on the basis of sex , but such facilities that are provided for students of one sex are comparable to such facilities that are provided for students of the next sex. “
The Trump administration claims that because the district has removed an established toilet from girls at East High School and has replaced it with the gender-neutral bathroom instead, they have violated the title IX. It is no longer the same for both sexes, because the boys still have an established toilet of their specific genus.
Scott Pribble, the director of external communication for Denver Public Schools, argues that it was more convenient to install a gender -neutral toilet because there was simply not enough time during passing periods. Who in turn made children, “Let the next class, because the one or two single maternity rooms they had to house were not enough.”
And although I understand that East is a large school, it is not a scapegoat for adults to use the excuse that there is not enough time. Of course there is not enough time! Five minutes is not enough time for a normal person to use a busy toilet. The toilet of the girls on the second floor is one of the busiest while passing periods and classes. Moreover, it goes without saying that a female student needs more time than the boys who stand with urinals. So resulting in the need for more time in the toilet and more toilet stalls.
Due to the fact that everyone can go into the gender -neutral toilet, most girls, including myself, do not feel at ease in themselves in the bathroom or not at all, for fear of an act of sexual harassment or misconduct. There is not the essential part of complete privacy of floor-to-ceiling cover between each stall and it is now anxiety inducing to simply use the bathroom. Although the stalls are 12 feet long, it does not prevent someone from placing his phone under the stall and takes an unsolicited photo.
Liz Meyer, professor of educational foundations and policy at CU Boulder argues that this research is a “disturbing” action and discriminates against the LGBTQ+ community. However, I would claim that it is a refreshing act that the leaders of our nation try to protect the young adults of our nation and more specifically the young ladies.
Before East High School made the conversion of the once girls -rusty in the now gender -neutral toilet, Eastern East heard only one side of the story. In an announcement on the website of the East High School it said the bathroom “reflect [East’s] Commitment to inclusiveness and fairness, which offers a hospitable space for all students. “And,”[East is] Promoting a school environment where every student feels safe and respected. “
East does not create that inclusive community and although others may say that this creates a safe space, it pushes many like me to not want to use the toilet because of the inconvenience that is around it. If they wanted to make a toilet for the LGBTQ+ community, they should have invested in making new stalls to better meet their needs.
However, I believe that East does not comply with its promise of inclusion and that the non-advanced conversion of the girls to gender neutral is a sign of laziness, exclusion and another thing that young ladies have to work much more difficult call their own.
Mattison Nunez is a senior at East High School who occasionally writes columns for the Denver Post.
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