UH campuses now provide all-gender restrooms; 20 at UH Hilo
UH Hilo has established more than 20 gender-neutral bathrooms throughout the campus, including at residence halls, Student Life Center and other key buildings.
All-gender restrooms are now available at University of Hawaii at Hilo, UH Mānoa, and UH West Oʻahu. Similar to “family restrooms” that can be found in some shopping malls and airports, each all-gender restroom is a lockable, single-stall and provides both ADA accessibility and privacy.
Nine all-gender restrooms are available at the UH Mānoa campus, and 73 percent of the bathrooms in the residence halls are all-gender bathrooms. The UH Mānoa LGBTQ+ Center assisted UH Hilo, which has more than 20 all-gender bathrooms, and UH West Oʻahu, which has one all-gender bathroom and plans to add two more.
“No one should ever feel uncomfortable using our restroom facilities,” says UH Hilo Chancellor Don Straney. “That’s why we’ve established more than 20 gender-neutral bathrooms throughout the campus, including our residence halls, Student Life Center and other key buildings, which can be readily located on our interactive map. Protecting the privacy of our faculty, staff and students is a responsibility we take very seriously.”
Upholding legal rights
On May 13, 2016, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education released, under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, a “Dear Colleague Letter” relating to the legal rights of transgender students in schools and universities receiving federal funding. The communication stated that students should have the right to use restrooms that match their gender identities.
The University of Hawaiʻi had already started policy work in this area well before the letter was issued.
-Read full story at UH System News
