University Health Services at UC Berkeley is dismayed at the President’s recent action to rescind federal guidance to educational institutions for transgender students. We believe trans rights are human rights. The President’s action does not change California state law which grants transgender students the right to use public facilities that align with their gender identity, and it doesn’t change our commitment to protecting and providing equal rights and services to our transgender students. We will continue to advocate for progressive health practices and services to support the needs of our transgender community here at Berkeley. Please see our Pride and Trans web pages for additional resources. We stand with our partners at GenEq in support of the trans community. Read their powerful statement below.
GenEq statement February 23, 2017:
Dear Campus Community,
Yesterday, the Trump administration rescinded guidance to educational institutions on supporting transgender students issued by the Obama administration less than a year ago. We at the Gender Equity Resource Center are disgusted that the current White House Administration took this unnecessary act of targeting our trans and gender nonconforming siblings in what can only be described as raw bigotry and hatred.
As a UC community and as Californians, we enjoy gender identity protections based on law, policy, and practice and there is no indication any of our progress made over the years will be reversed. Be assured, that we will maintain the campus protections and resources that affirm the dignity and respect our transgender and gender non-conforming siblings deserve. Some of these resources include restroom access, services at UHS, information, and campus education workshops. While UC Berkeley has recently received accolades for being the most LGBTQ Supportive Campus in the nation, we recognize there is still much work to do as a campus for full inclusion to be realized.
The action yesterday may have created anxieties, not just for the welfare of those at UC Berkeley, but for others beyond our campus. Our friends at the National Center for Transgender Equality have created a FAQ on The Withdrawal of Federal Guidelines for Transgender Students, which we hope will allay some of your concerns.
We not only promise to stand with our trans and gender-nonconforming siblings, we are committed to working alongside our siblings to advance greater understanding, resources, systems, and overall access. Federal guidelines or not, the staff of the Gender Equity Resource Center will continue working with campus administrators and our system-wide colleagues in making UC Berkeley a welcoming, inclusive place where all transgender and gender non-conforming students, faculty, and staff thrive.
In solidarity,
The GenEq Team
Billy Curtis
Cici Ambrosio
Mac Boyce