Andre Hall’s gender-neutral bathroom could indicate progress, inclusivity

Whether it’s the loo, oval office or the powder room, segregating restrooms by gender is one of the longest standing conventions of society.

But circumstances, propelled by necessity, are prone to occasional change.

Sophomore Alex Clarke was faced with such change when last year, Andre Hall adopted a gender-neutral bathroom.

“I opened the stall and suddenly this guy would be walking in front of me,” said Clarke.

“I was fine with it, but it was a little weird.”

Clarke recounts the story of the gender-neutral bathroom that was to be found in the fine arts building last year.

“There was a fire last year around exam time. A boy set it off in the boys’ bathroom with the intention of not taking a final,” Clarke said.

“For a while the boys were using the girls’ bathroom. That’s when the bathroom became gender-neutral.”

The gender-neutral bathroom was created to cater to the entire community’s bathroom needs until the reconstruction of the boys’ bathroom concluded.

“It wasn’t to make a statement,” Clarke said. “I think, whoever was in charge of repairs thought, ‘we can’t just set up a separate bathroom just for a separate gender. That seems kind of silly. We’ve already got one for the girls.”

The bathroom on the first floor of Andre Hall, however, has a different preliminary story.

“The bathroom came into existence two, maybe two and a half years ago,” said Jordan Watzlavick, Administrative Coordinator for the School of Humanities.

Watzlavick states that a former student worker, Andrew Hatcher, a St. Edward’s alumnus, took the initiative and requested to make the bathroom gender-neutral. Previously, the signage indicated the bathroom was for both men and women, but Hatcher felt a clarification was needed for inclusivity.

“Andrew came and asked me if he could specify that the bathroom was gender-neutral. He said that not everyone identifies as either female or male.

And I said yes.

It was totally Andrew’s idea and I approved it,” Watzlavick said.

Andrew Hatcher could not be reached for commentary.

“We have been using it as an inclusive bathroom and Andrew wanted to make sure we were including everybody and that is how it came about basically,” Watzlavick said.

Although St. Edward’s promotes itself as an inclusive university, freshman Galena Adame claims that there’s still some ways to go towards a more complete acceptance.

“I don’t know if there is a greater attempt to be inclusive towards the transgender community. I feel like saying that [just because] there is not a large community of people that identify that way, doesn’t mean there isn’t a community whatsoever,” Galena said.

Galena shares that there might be a hindrance in the development of someone’s identity because of the lack of support from the community.

“I feel that there are a lot of people that want to come out but they do not have the necessary support from the public.

“If you take these little steps, like creating a gender-neutral bathroom, that could help someone who is in the process of transitioning,” Galena said.

Students, much like Galena, share the belief that there is a need to accommodate to the diverse community.

“That’s definitely something they have been fighting for. Especially people that identify as gender-neutral,” Clarke said.

A quote from the university website states, “More than anything, we hope to instill a sense of belonging for all community members.”

“I’m glad, even if the fine arts’ bathroom wasn’t built purposefully, that there is some attempt. You need support and I think there should be a greater support for the all of the community,” Galena said.