Today I received an e-mail from Mitchel Livingston, Univeristy of Cincinnati’s vice president of student affairs and chief diversity officer, stating that the board of trustees finally approved a multi-year-long effort to include “gender identity and expression” in the school’s anti-discrimination policy. This initiative was started by UC student group GenderBloc, a radical queer organization that concentrates on transgender and queer activism and awareness. The new policy will go into effect on Feb. 15. This is very exciting because GenderBloc has worked very hard on this issue as, like any beauracracy, there was a lot of red tape to navigate and administrators have been dragging their feet.

Next up, in a queer student initiative, UC students will be working towards a full-time staffer for the newly opened LGBTQ Office of the Women’s Center.