RESTROOMS HELPING STUDENTS FEEL SAFE

It was not always easy to find a gender-neutral restroom at Fresno State.

“I spent 20 minutes this morning trying to find the bathroom that’s in one of the buildings,” said Asher Morely, a Fresno State student.

Asher depended on the gender-neutral restrooms because that’s where he felt safe. This was true for other students who did not identify with a specific gender.

In 2016, Fresno State started adding the gender-neutral restrooms on campus in order to help all students feel safe and feel like they belonged.

“I think they are really important, like as far as helping the students feel included, creating a safe space for people who may not feel safe in the gendered restrooms,” said Shawna Irissarri, the lead student coordinator for the Cross-Cultural and Gender Center’s Gender programs and services.

The Cross-Cultural and Gender Center had a map on their website that showed where each restroom was located, but it was not completely accurate. Due to lack of communication between departments, the Center was not sure how many of these restrooms were actually on campus. The most common restrooms were in the Henry Madden Library and in the Family Food and Science and Industrial Technology buildings.

One problem that was caused by these restrooms were the lines they created.

“I think it’s nice those options are available, I still feel as though its unfortunate that it’s only one stall so it actually becomes more of a bigger inconvenience,” said Maede Fang, a Fresno State student.

The students suggested building more of the gender-neutral restrooms in order to fix the issue of long lines for the one-stalled restroom.