Resolution in Support of Students Identifying as Transgender, Nonbinary, and Other Gender Identities at Rutgers University

Date

Background

A person’s gender identity is informed by one's own knowledge about who they are and how they should be referred to by others. These identities encompass an expansive spectrum of gender diversity and include—among others—transgender and intergender1, and intersect with other social identities, such as by race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.

Each person has a human right to their identity. It is not a physical descriptor and can change or remain fluid as a person’s understanding of themselves develops. Therefore, knowingly imposing an identity on a person that they themselves have not expressed is an unacceptable act of oppression; and Rutgers University aspires to “institutionally embrace diversity, inclusion, and equity as a core value” 2 and embracing and affirming gender diversity in our policies and practices is essential to the humanity of all students, faculty, and staff at Rutgers.

Resolution

Be it resolved that the New Brunswick Faculty Council affirms the University’s responsibility to identify students in accordance with their expressed gender identity. The NBFC calls upon New Brunswick Chancellor and the University President;

- to initiate a review of the policies of all chancellor units and their implementation that give all students and university personnel the right to identify themselves with the name of their choosing (including on course rosters, transcripts, and diplomas) and that such policies prohibit identifying any community member’s gender identity by anything other than what that individual has expressed to the extent allowed by law; and

- to invest resources in gender diversity training programs across all chancellor units, including the development and implementation of content at faculty, staff, and part-time lecturer orientations and training, as well as a corps of students who identify as transgender or nonbinary to meet with faculty, staff, and part-time lecturers in small groups to share their experiences at Rutgers; and

-  to invest in additional capacity in structures that can accelerate efforts to make Rutgers more inclusive of diverse gender identities—such as the New Brunswick-wide Bias Prevention Committee3and the Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities4; and 

- to improve other forms of reporting and accountability mechanisms concerning harm on the basis of one’s gender identity, ensuring equitable capacity and responsiveness across all Chancellor units; and 

-to have the Office of Senior Vice President for Equity to oversee an audit of all units' administrative forms to ensure inclusive language around diversity of gender identities; and to make progress toward a “one-stop shop” where all Rutgers community members can express their name and pronouns, and for that information to be included within all relevant electronic systems. 

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1https://www.healthline.com/health/different-genders#a-d 

2 https://diversity.rutgers.edu/dsp/faqs

3 https://studentaffairs.rutgers.edu/resources/bias-prevention

4 http://socialjustice.rutgers.edu