Two multi-stall bathrooms will soon be designated as gender-neutral at the University of the Fraser Valley’s Abbotsford campus.
A motion was unanimously passed at a recent Student Union Society (SUS) board meeting that will see two bathrooms changed over the summer on the student union building’s second floor.
SUS president Sukhi Brar said the motion came after student groups requested such a change last summer. Since then, Brar said the society has discussed the idea in a number of committees and has looked at other universities, such as McGill in Montreal and the University of Victoria, where they have already established gender-neutral bathrooms.
She said urinals will be removed from the men’s bathroom – at a cost of approximately $3,000 – to address privacy issues. Brar said the configuration did not allow for privacy walls to be built around the urinals. There will be no other physical changes to the facilities, she said.
Transgender students have expressed a need for such facilities on campus, telling the SUS there is a lack of facilities where they feel comfortable.
“We have a responsibility to be responsive,” Brar said.
The signage change and urinal removal will happen over the summer, Brar said.
There are no plans to designate more gender-neutral bathrooms at this time, but Brar said this project could act as a test case for more.
