Opinion: Give us back the girls’ restroom at East High School

The day that East High School students came back from winter break we were all jarred by daunting 12-foot stalls, the main emotion of disturbance coming from girls. It was like visiting a new exhibition at the zoo — everyone in the high school needed to see this. The halls were crowded as we took turns to see what the majority of students had not been informed would take place during our break.

On Jan. 16, 9News reported on the new gender-neutral restroom which then caught the attention of the new Trump administration which is now conducting an investigation on the basis that Title IX of the Civil Rights Act has been violated. According to the United States Court, Title IX says that “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

In addition, the U.S. Department of Education solidified that, “Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972 and its implementing regulations are clear: A recipient of federal funds, like the district, “may provide separate toilet, locker room, and shower facilities on the basis of sex, but such facilities provided for students of one sex shall be comparable to such facilities provided for students of the other sex.”

The Trump administration is arguing that because the district took away an established girls’ restroom at East High School and replaced it with the gender-neutral bathroom instead, they have violated Title IX. It is no longer equal for both sexes since the boys still have an established restroom of their particular sex.

Scott Pribble, the director of external communications for Denver Public Schools, argues that it was more convenient to install a gender-neutral restroom because there simply wasn’t enough time during passing periods. Which in turn was making kids, “late to the next class because the one or two single stall bathrooms that they had to accommodate wasn’t enough.”

And while I understand that East is a large school, it is not a scapegoat for adults to use the excuse that there is not enough time. Of course, there’s not enough time! Five minutes is not enough time for a normal person to use a crowded restroom. The girls’ second-floor restroom is one of the busiest during passing periods and class times. In addition, it’s only natural that a female student needs more time than the boys standing at urinals. Thus, resulting in the need for more time in the restroom, and more restroom stalls.

Due to the fact that anyone can go in the gender-neutral restroom, most girls, myself included, do not feel comfortable going into the bathroom by themselves or at all, in fear of an act of sexual harassment or misconduct happening. There is not the essential component of complete privacy of floor-to-ceiling enclosure between each stall and it is now anxiety-inducing to just use the bathroom. Although the stalls are 12 feet tall, it does not prevent someone from putting their phone underneath the stall and taking an unsolicited photo.

Liz Meyer, professor of educational foundations and policy at CU Boulder argues that this investigation is a “disturbing” act, and is discriminating against the LGBTQ+ community. However, I would argue that it is a refreshing act that the leaders of our nation are trying to protect the young adults of our nation and more specifically the young ladies.

Before East High School made the conversion of the once girls’ restroom into the now gender-neutral restroom East only heard one side of the story. In an announcement on the East High School website, it said the bathroom “reflect [East’s] commitment to inclusivity and equity, providing a welcoming space for all students.” And, “[East is] fostering a school environment where every student feels safe and respected.”

East is not creating that inclusive community and while others might say that this is creating a safe space, it’s pushing many like me to not want to use the restroom due to the discomfort that is surrounding it. If they wanted to make a restroom for the LGBTQ+ community they should have invested in creating new stalls to better suit their needs.

I believe, however, that East is not fulfilling its promise of inclusion and that the unadvertised conversion of the girls’ restroom to gender-neutral is a sign of laziness, exclusion, and yet another thing that young ladies have to work that much harder to call their own.

Mattison Nunez is a senior at East High School who writes columns occasionally for The Denver Post.

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