In the past week, the Trump administration has issued a letter to public schools that effectively withdrew initiatives put in place by Barack Obama, which established that public schools cannot prohibit students from using the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity. That ordinance relied on the Title IX stipulation that schools cannot discriminate based on sex, and the Obama administration extended the purview to include gender identity as well.

Although Washington University is a private institution, we receive some federal funding, so the administration could choose to stop protecting transgender students if they desire. While this step is highly unlikely, we still need to consider the consequences of the letter and reflect on our own resources and facilities. The primary focus of these policies, both nationwide and by state, is bathrooms. Whether or not you are as flabbergasted as to why people care so much about bathrooms as I am, it’s obvious that the Republican Party sees this as a moral battleground. So, instead of trying to figure out why a politician or interest group feels a certain way (there has been multiple arguments over the past few years), it’s important to look at our own facilities and take note of where we can improve.

On Campus Life’s LGBTQIA* page, there is a section of resources that includes the list of gender inclusive restrooms on campus. When listed out, it seems as if there are plenty of facilities available. The map of those restrooms tell a different story. There are blocks of buildings that completely lack gender inclusive restrooms. The entire William Greenleaf Eliot residential college is missing a gender inclusive restroom, as well as the majority of the Village (Lopata and the Village House). Major buildings, such as the Athletic Complex and Olin Library, also do not have gender inclusive restrooms. In the five buildings that comprise Sam Fox School of Art and Design, there is one gender inclusive restroom.

Despite Wash. U. promoting itself as inclusive, progressive and aware, there is much room to grow in making the campus facilities more visible and more accessible for students who do not feel comfortable in men’s or women’s restrooms that dominate Danforth Campus and the South 40. While the administration is unlikely to stop enforcing the Obama-era protections that allow students to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity, this only goes so far. For the students who do not fall into the binary and feel more comfortable using a gender inclusive restroom, the options are meager. If the administration truly wants to advertise itself as progressive and inclusive, then they need to start practicing what they preach and put their rhetoric into action.