Students get Gender Diversity residential area, other transgender services
A Gender Diversity residential area, a map of all-gender restrooms, and ‘voice feminization or masculinization’ are all advertised by the University of Houston’s LGBTQ Resource Center.
Athletic policies ‘defer to the NCAA for all matters of inclusion,’ meaning that men may compete on women’s teams after ‘completing one calendar year of testosterone suppression treatment.’
The University of Houston (UH) LGBTQ Resource Center lists a variety of programs and services for the housing, athletic participation, and medical care of transgender students.
A Gender Diversity residential area, a map of all-gender restrooms, and “voice feminization or masculinization“ are among the programs and services advertised by the center.
On the center’s Transgender Affairs page, there is a policy allowing a new student to stay in housing that corresponds to his or her identity during orientation. This overnight exemption aims to be “inclusive and welcoming for [the] newest transgender and gender diverse Cougars.”
[RELATED: How ‘gender inclusion’ policies exclude women’s safety]
After orientation, students can live in transgender-specific housing. The residence area “may include students who identify as male, female, trans, gender non-conforming, or non-binary,” according to the Transgender Affairs website.
“Members will be able to explore expanded definitions and roles of gender in society and engage community members in critical dialogues,” the website continues.
Students can also ask UH to apply their preferred pronouns and names in the university’s electronic system and in official documentation, such as transcript notes.
For transgender athletes, the website references UH’s athletic policies, which “defer to the NCAA for all matters of inclusion.” A biological male may compete on a woman’s team after “completing one calendar year of testosterone suppression treatment,” according to NCAA guidelines.
Under the transgender health section, the student health insurance plan shows coverage for procedures including “sexual reassignment surgery.”
The LGBTQ Resource Center offers programs to the rest of the student body: an ally training, an ally training 2.0, and a leadership certificate. The center’s website says that over 1,200 students, faculty, and staff have received the Cougar Ally Training, which helps them “respond knowledgeably and sensitively to expressed needs.”
“Allies are given a placard to display as a visible statement of support for the LGBTQ community,” a training description says.
Campus Reform contacted all relevant parties for comment, and this article will be updated accordingly.
