Last week, a South Los Angeles high school opened the first multi-stall gender-inclusive restroom in the LA Unified School District, the second largest school district in the country. The restroom, formerly designated for women, has 15 stalls and is now open to students of any gender.
Members of the Santee Educational Complex’s Gay Straight Alliance launched a three-month campaign urging administrators to designate an all-gender restroom after a classmate was denied access to a toilet due to their appearance. Students collected 700 signatures from classmates and teachers, posted campaign flyers around the schools, and held a rally in front of the campus.
My favorite part of this “WouldMakeAGreatDisneyFilmButDisneyIsTheWorst” campaign is who the students are, as reported by Fusion:
About 93% of the student body is Latino, with African American students making up around 6% of students. School records show all of them come from economically disadvantaged families, and less than half the students (48%) graduate within four years, compared to the district average of 64% of students who complete high school in four years.
The students’ victory comes just as right-wing extremists push anti-trans bills through state legislatures.
As explained by irnalynn:
The push for bathroom bills not only proposes a solution to a completely non-existent threat, it fosters even more hostility toward trans people -- the kind of hostility that leads to unmatched rates of bullying, high murder rates of transgender Americans, as well as disturbingly high rates of suicide. The average lifespan of a trans person is 30 to 35 years old.
The students of Santee’s affirmative stance in support of their classmate illustrates once again that all politics is local. The conversations student organizers had within their community are exactly what it takes to make legislative attacks on transgender people unacceptable to the general (ignorant) public. History is made community by community, standing in solidarity with our friends, family and neighbors.
Hat tip to the students of Santee Educational Complex. Thanks for making the world a little bit better.