Kit Apostolacus, a senior biblical studies major at Eastern University, recently published this open letter detailing the abuse transgender people like herself are subject to at Eastern.

Eastern University houses students based on their "anatomical sex" [1] (pg. 13). But no one is ever asked about their genitals, unless they're a transgender person requesting different gendered housing. The National Transgender Discrimination Survey found that transgender people who were bullied or discriminated against attempted suicide 51% of the time [2]. The Department of Justice recently ruled that transgender students' gender identity determines which bathroom they should use [3]. A March 2015 study showed that allowing trans youth to transition and live as themselves fully actually improves their mental health (wow! surprise!).

Being misgendered in this institutionalized manner severely increases our chances of being harassed, assaulted, and/or attempting suicide. Thus, it is in the best interests of mental health to house transgender people in gendered housing that transgender students feel is most appropriate. Moreover, if we are not housed in congruence with our gender identities, academic performance often plummets and transgender students' ability to be a holistic part of the community is stunted.

All these impacts in mind, reducing people's gender to their genitals is a form of sexual harassment and a violation of Title IX, as defined in EU’s own handbook [4] (pgs. 7-9). All these topics and more are discussed in the open letter mentioned above.

Transgender students need safe and healthy housing like every other student. In this fashion we have four demands:

1. Remove the definition of gender as “anatomical sex” in the residential supplement of the student handbook,

2. treat transgender students with the same amount of respect you give other students; stop requiring transgender students to show medical proof of their genitalia when no one else is ever asked to do the same; it is institutionalized sexual harassment

3. work with LGBTQ students to establish a housing policy where LGBTQ students can be safe and healthy

4. work with us to establish a fair and equitable means of changing one’s gender in University records

"Let us begin waking up the world, by waking up ourselves. With honest lives and broken hearts, we can wait no longer."

If you have an affiliation with Eastern University or are a clergy member, please include that in your signature if you are comfortable.