Ryerson’s Trans Collective is celebrating a win for inclusive washrooms on campus while work continues with university administration to develop a campus-wide policy.
New all-gender signs were installed last week identifying two washrooms on the second floor of the Student Campus Centre (SCC) and plans are moving ahead to construct all-gender single stalls on the first and second floors.
In the past, the Trans Collective was told to take down all-gender signage they had posted at the entrances to campus bathrooms, but progress is slowly coming to campus, said Evan Roy, a Trans Collective co-ordinator and fourth-year photography student.
“This campaign will benefit me a great deal, in terms of safety and access,” said Roy. “It’s hard to see what will come, but I am hopeful that we continue to see signs of positive change in the future.”
Construction of all-gender bathrooms is also underway at Oakham House and expected to be completed in March.
Currently, Ryerson has 45 single-stall unisex washrooms, with the majority inside George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre.
The new facilities at the SCC are the first shared all-gender washrooms on campus. The collective promised in a February statement to The Ryersonian they would open all-gender washrooms in the SCC and Victoria building by the end of the year.
Still, there’s more work to be done in making bathrooms accessible and finalizing a trans-inclusive policy for future building construction, Roy said.
The collective has been meeting with university administration since last year to collaborate on a campus-wide policy.
This article has been published in The Ryersonian on Nov. 4, 2015.