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Campus’s All-Gender Restrooms Aren’t Accessible Enough, says McClatchy’s QSA

Many students may have noticed the all-gender restroom signs on various single-stall staff bathrooms around McClatchy. This is due to Assembly Bill 1732, passed in 2016,  which requires that all single-stall bathrooms in public areas be designated as all-gender. McClatchy technically meets these requirements, but the Queer Straight Alliance doesn’t think they’re accessible enough to be useful for students.

 

As of now, there is one all-gender bathroom in the Student Support Center on campus, and all single-stall staff bathrooms are technically designated all-gender.

 

According to Assistant Principal Pease, who ran the Student Support Center for two years before becoming Assistant Principal, any student who wishes to use the all-gender bathroom in the Student Support Center may simply go into the Student Support Center ask to be directed towards the all-gender bathroom. The bathroom requires no key. “Just go in the support center and say ‘I need to use the restroom’” said Assistant Principal Pease.

 

As far as staff bathrooms go, students have to find someone who will unlock the door for them, whether that be a teacher, hall monitor, or any other adult with a key, ultimately making it less accessible to students.

 

However, McClatchy’s Queer Straight Alliance, which has been fighting for accessible all-gender bathrooms for years now, isn’t satisfied yet.

 

“The staff bathroom isn’t accessible to kids, only like a third of the teachers allow students to use it” said QSA Vice President Maya Steinhart (‘19).

 

Steinhart also mentioned that all-gender bathrooms can’t be useful for students if they don’t know about them, telling the administration to “let people know they exist.”

 

Steinhart has reason to be concerned about student awareness, considering that Assistant Principal Pease said that in her two years running the Student Support Center, there were only a couple instances in which a student asked to use the all-gender bathroom.

 

QSA President Leeza Wong (‘18) attributed this to the fact that students have to ask an adult in order to use the restroom, because that can make it a less comfortable and convenient experience for students.

 

As far as improvements go, “Just make them more accessible,” said Wong. “That’s the whole point, so the endless bureaucracy doesn’t help anyone.”

 

QSA made it clear that until McClatchy has a sufficient number of accessible, all-gender bathrooms, they won’t feel as if the administration is doing everything they can to ensure the comfort and safety of students.

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