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Posts tagged as “inclusivity”

(Archive February 2018) Students Support Gender Inclusive Restrooms on Campus

By editorialteam on February 4, 2025

By Ashley McHugh | Observer Contributor

A sign designating one of the new All Genger Restrooms.
Photo by Thomas Hill Jr.

Gender neutral bathrooms are popping up on campuses across the country, including here at Mount Wachusett Community College. The move for the gender neutral bathrooms on campus began last year with the transgender population petitioning for the change. 

According to The New York Times, the movement initially began in 2013 when a transgender athlete in Illinois pushed for her right to gender inclusive bathrooms. Last fall, the Department of Education’s Civil Rights sector ruled in favor of the student’s need for gender inclusive bathrooms. It was arranged for the student to use the locker room and the school would install private changing areas. Some in the community denounced the decision while others joined the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which represented the girl, in declaring a victory for civil rights.  read more

Reflecting on DEI Initiatives with Chief Diversity Executive Stephanie Williams

By editorialteam on October 18, 2023

‘The Need is Always Going to be There’

By Cody Nathanson | Assistant Editor

The Mount’s continued ambition to make students feel included and develop a sense of campus belonging is still an ongoing process. Like many colleges during COVID-19, MWCC followed in the greatly renewed wave of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) initiatives by hiring for a new position: Chief Diversity Executive. A position Stephanie Williams has held since April of 2022.

“When we’re talking about creating inclusive environments and breaking down systems that serve a dominant group and culture and not the rest, the need is always going to be there,” Williams explained. Her position provides a top-down oversight of MWCC’s policies and programs through the lens of DEIA principles, but when it comes to fostering a front-facing sense of belonging, it remains a part of a larger need. In a 2022 research survey, 64% of college students acknowledged their campus’ support of DEIA principles but shared the sentiment that there was still room for improvement. read more

Beyond He and She

By editorialteam on October 18, 2023

Accommodating Gender Pronoun Inclusivity and the Rising Enrollment of Trans and Nonbinary Students in Higher Education

By Elysian Alder | Editor-in-Chief

Across the United States, high school and college students are increasingly identifying as transgender or nonbinary, with studies revealing that approximately 2% of high school students and nearly 6% of college students fall somewhere within these identities. About 3% of students specify using pronouns that challenge the traditional binary perspective, like the singular “they/them” and “neopronouns”—a category of new pronouns such as “xe/xem” and “ze/zir” that are used in place of conventional identifiers. This increasing diversity in gender identity among students raises the question of how colleges and universities can effectively accommodate and promote inclusivity for individuals in these communities. read more