For those made uncomfortable by their name, change could be close at hand.
Student members of Student Government Association, volOUT and UT’s Commission for LGBT People met Sunday night to review a preferred name policy bill that would allow students to change their legal names on class rosters through UT’s Banner system. The bill, which aims to address the needs of transgender students made uncomfortable by the use of their legal names in class and in public settings, will likely be presented to the Student Senate before spring break.
Alina Clay, sophomore in College Scholars and co-director of SGA’s Diversity Affairs Committee, said the inspiration for the bill came partially from a suggestion made by transgender actress Laverne Cox during her visit to the university earlier this month.
“Teachers often call people by the wrong name, just for whatever reason,” Clay said. “This would curtail a lot of that initial complexity and confusion in the classroom.”
Clay said she further believes the proposed change would come at little to no cost to the university, given that the Banner system is already in place and would only need to be slightly altered.
“This is just a technical issue that can be sorted out through the Banner website if UT provides this option,” Clay said.
More than 130 universities across the nation allow students to change their name and gender on campus records and documents, according to a report from Campuspride.org.
The name change policy would only apply to names appearing on class rosters and in the UT directory, while legal names would still be utilized for all official and business documents created outside the Banner system. This exception to the policy would allow transgender students to keep their gender identity secret from parents and relatives should they choose to do so.
Maggie Marsh, junior in neuroscience and public relations coordinator for volOUT, said she believes transgender students are made uncomfortable and unsafe by professors who refer to them by their birth names.
“It can definitely create tension in the room, you can feel unsafe depending on the environment and the classroom,” Marsh said of transgender students in the classroom. “(The bill) really respects the trans person’s safety and privacy.”
While attendees of the meeting agreed on the necessity of a name change option for Vol Cards as well as preferred pronoun usage within the Banner system, it was agreed that such proposals should be made after the initial preferred name change policy was passed by the Student Senate.
