Rarely is a meeting so interesting that it deserves writing about. On May 7th, 2025, I had one of those meetings.
I had been invited to the Accessibility Committee meeting as an advocate for gender-neutral washrooms. I sat quietly as the committee went through the motions of its regular agenda items. Eventually, we got to bathrooms.
I explained that UNBC has very few accessible, all-gender washrooms on campus. For instance, there are no gender-neutral facilities in building 10. There is a bathroom on the first floor of building 8, but it is often occupied because this is a high-traffic area. The next nearest bathroom is in building 9, the Dr. Donald Rix Northern Health Sciences Centre. After that, the next nearest is in the library, first floor, near the elevator.
I explained that many transgender (trans) people opt to use gender-neutral washrooms for a variety of reasons. We do it to protect ourselves from violence and harassment, to avoid making others uncomfortable, or simply because we don’t identify as men or women.
I emphasized that the lack of washrooms meant that I, and other members of the community, were facing barriers to full participation at UNBC.
Finally, I reminded the committee that trans people are a protected class in B.C. and that UNBC has a duty to accommodate us. Trans rights are codified in the BC Human Rights Code; they are not up for debate.
The discussion got off to a rocky start.
“I don’t appreciate being told what to do,” he began. David Claus, director of facilities management, had a lot to say. He went on for interminable minutes. Familiar with Robert’s Rules of Order, I let him finish.
Claus was skeptical of gender-neutral washrooms, or at least I think that’s what he was trying to get across. He began by expressing his opposition because I, an invited guest to the committee about barriers to inclusion, had brought up a barrier to inclusion I faced.
Next, he asserted that trans people are not entitled to accommodation in public washrooms, which is false. Claus is not a lawyer, yet he determined that UNBC is not obliged to follow the law.
He then careened towards his final argument: that Shas Ti Kelly Road had gender-neutral washrooms, and the result was bedlam.
It’s true, Shas Ti Kelly Road renovated its washrooms and opened them up to all genders. The new bathroom design had stalls with floor-to-ceiling doors. A more private and secure public bathroom experience has hardly ever been had.
Unfortunately, this renovation finished around the time students returned to class after the pandemic lockdowns. During this time, teachers reported increased behavioural issues. Additionally, the social media trend “devious licks,” where students posted videos of themselves vandalizing school washrooms, had taken the internet by storm.
Yet to hear Claus tell it, trans people sharing the washroom with everyone else is what caused the damage. This claim has never been proven and is silly on its face. The bathroom in my home and yours is shared by people of all genders. I’ve never had any issues with mischief because of my all-gender home bathroom.
I was too stunned to speak, not only because of what was said, but because nobody had the courage to correct his false, defamatory statements against the trans community.
In the May 7th meeting minutes, commitments were made to work with the Pride Centre, Accessibility Committee, and Facilities to accommodate trans students.
According to UNBC’s Office of Equity and Inclusion, “responsibility for infrastructure planning and implementation continues to rest with Facilities and senior leadership.” Despite support from the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and members of the Accessibility Committee, Facilities has yet to include all-gender washrooms in its annual capital plan, let alone follow up with the Pride Centre.
I have the location of UNBC’s all-gender washrooms memorized because I have frequently needed to hunt for one between classes or mid-lecture. Many of my classes have been on the fourth floor of building 10, meaning I must go all the way down the stairs or elevator and then check for the nearest washroom, then the next nearest, and so on until I find an empty one.
In the four years I have been at UNBC, it has always been this way. I have missed lecture time I paid for; I have been late to meetings searching for a toilet. I don’t want the next generation of students to go through this humiliation ritual.
In honour of Transgender Day of Visibility this March 31st, I ask that people make it clear that they want UNBC to be a place of equal access. This is not the plea of a ne’er-do-well; this is the plea of someone who has been holding it in for a long time.
