By Sophia Schlegelmilch | Assistant Editor
Photos by Thomas Hill Jr.
Students and administrators are searching for alternatives due to a conflict with plumbing codes which required the all-gender bathrooms on the Gardner campus to be reassigned as single-gender faculty bathrooms.
According to Dean of Students Jason Zelesky, the school was informed that the bathrooms were not compliant with State Plumbing Code about two weeks ago, after an inspection related to other construction efforts. The school was ordered to make the changes immediately, said Zelesky, in order to avoid penalties, which could potentially include loss of the school’s occupancy permit or closure of the building.
Students and faculty were notified of the re-designation of the restrooms in an email from Student Services on Tuesday, January 22nd, the day before spring classes began.
However, not all students found out about the changes in this manner.
“Unfortunately, I was alerted in the worst way,” said Chris Ordway, a Human Services major who discovered the alterations several weeks ago during January intersession. “I went to the all-gender bathroom . . . but as I was leaving the bathroom I looked behind me and noticed I had just walked out of the men’s restroom.”
Ordway, who identifies as gender-nonconforming, said he walked around to each of the all-gender restrooms on the Gardner campus and discovered they all had single-gender signs on them.
“I felt invalidated and forgotten,” he said. “This was one of my favorite things about The Mount. I could finally use the restroom in peace without anyone labeling me.”
Ordway said he immediately complained to the administration and Student Services. While he emphasized that he felt heard and respected, he is still concerned that the matter is not being handled with appropriate urgency. “This could cause an interruption in our non-binary students’ mental health as well as the possibility of students dropping out simply because of the fact they can’t use the restroom comfortably,” he said. “It needs to be clear that this affects the emotional safety of our non-binary students.”
Zelesky described the pace of emails and phone calls from concerned students as “constant.” He said he is making an effort to listen to and address each person’s concerns individually.
Echoing Ordway’s sentiments, he said the hardest questions to answer are from students who don’t feel safe using either the men’s or the women’s bathrooms. He said he has replied primarily by reminding students that the school will enforce state law and respond immediately if anyone feels harassed, unsafe, or unwelcome in the restroom they have decided to use. In addition, he has offered security escorts and tours of the building to help students find bathrooms in less-travelled areas where they may feel safer using a single-gender restroom. He also researched temporary alternatives such as all-gender port-a-potties or restroom trailers.
Currently, the plumbing code requires that schools maintain separate bathrooms for teachers and students, necessitating that the school relabel the all-gender restrooms as single-gender faculty bathrooms. However, the school has the option to apply for a variance – special permission from the state for an exemption to the plumbing code – to allow all-gender restrooms in the school without making the major changes to the building that would otherwise be required. Zelesky noted that a similar variance was recently granted to a UMass Amherst Residence Hall in October 2018.
President James Vander Hooven responded by announcing that a committee of faculty, staff, and students will be formed to investigate and petition for a variance. While the members of the committee have not yet been fully determined, they will be led by retired Senator Stephen Brewer, and students who are interested in a position on the committee are encouraged to contact Zelesky.
Zelesky said that in the meantime, the school is committed to transparency on this matter, and will be issuing regular updates as the situation develops.
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