X. Inclusion Related to Gender Identity or Expression
The University strives to ensure that all individuals are safe, included, and respected in their education and employment environments, regardless of their gender identity or expression, including intersex, nonbinary, transgender, agender, two-spirit, and gender-diverse Students and Employees.
The University does not tolerate Discrimination and Harassment on the basis of gender identity or expression. If a member of the University community believes they have been subjected to Discrimination or Harassment under the Policy, they should follow the appropriate reporting process described herein.
In upholding the principles of equity and inclusion, the University supports the full integration and healthy development of those who are gender diverse and seeks to eliminate any stigma related to gender identity and expression.
The University is committed to fostering a climate where all identities are valued, contributing to a more vibrant and diverse community. The University will administratively address issues some Students and Employees, including those identifying as intersex, nonbinary, transgender, agender, two-spirit, and gender diverse, may confront as they navigate systems originally designed around the assumption that gender is binary. As our society’s understanding of gender evolves, so do the University’s processes and policies.
Concepts like misgendering and deadnaming may not be familiar to all but understanding them is essential to the University’s goal of being as welcoming and inclusive a community as possible.
Misgendering or mispronouning is the intentional or unintentional use of pronouns or identifiers that are different from those used by an individual. Unintentional misgendering is usually resolved with an apology if someone clarifies their pronouns for you. Intentional misgendering is inconsistent with the type of community we hold ourselves out to be. We each have a right to determine our own gender identity and expression, but we don’t get to choose or negate someone else’s.
Deadnaming, along with misgendering, can be very traumatic to a person who is transgender, transitioning, nonbinary, or gender diverse. Deadnaming means using someone’s birth-assigned (cisgender) name, rather than the name they have chosen.
To a person who is transgender, transitioning, nonbinary, or gender diverse, their cisgender identity may be something that is in their past — dead, buried, and behind them. To then revive their deadname could trigger stressors, traumas, and experiences of the past that the individual has moved past, or is moving past, and can interfere with their health and well-being.
Unintentional deadnaming can be addressed by an apology and an effort to use the person’s name. Intentional deadnaming could be a form of bullying, outing, or otherwise harassing an individual, and thus should be avoided.
The Policy should be interpreted consistent with the goals of maximizing the inclusion of intersex, nonbinary, transgender, transitioning, agender, two spirit, and gender-diverse Students and Employees, including:
- Maintaining the privacy of all individuals consistent with law
- Ensuring all Students equal access to educational programming, activities, and facilities, including restrooms and locker rooms
- Ensuring all Employees equal access to employment opportunities and work, service, or health-related facilities
- Providing professional development for Employees and education for Students on topics related to gender inclusion
- Encouraging all Students and Employees to respect the pronoun usage and identities of all University community members
The University uses a number of interventions to address concerns that are raised related to gender-based Discrimination or Harassment, including problem-solving, intervention, confrontation, investigation, and Policy enforcement. When conflicts arise between the rights of members of the community to be free from gender-identity discrimination and those exercising their right to religious freedom, the University will try to balance rights and interests to find mutually agreeable outcomes or compromises. When that is not possible, the University will offer remedial solutions or enforce its Policies while also respecting the rights of all members of its community.