Media.www.BGNews.com – By: Tim Sampson
A frequently overlooked minority group on campus is looking for formal protection from discrimination.
On Friday, the Graduate Student Senate considered a new bill proposing to change the University’s current equal opportunity, equal education and anti-harassment policies, to include specific language prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression.
The bill was co-submitted by Joelle Ryan, president of Transcendence, the University organization for transgender individuals.
“What we want to do through this legislation is have explicit language, so that there is no doubt that the University prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression,” Ryan said.
It has long been assumed that protections against sexual discrimination included trangenders, she said.