ID school, conservative group debate what to call new restroom

TheOlympian.com – John Miller – Associated Press Writer

A conservative group has criticized an Idaho university administrator for saying a planned new unisex restroom in her school’s student center will accommodate transgender people.

Boise State University, with more than 12,000 students in the state capital, is adding 66,000 square feet in a $35 million student union building revamp beginning this month. It will add one unisex restroom that anyone can use; the restroom will afford users more privacy than traditional restrooms labeled “Men” and “Women.”

Leah Barrett, the BSU student union’s director, said she told a group of student lawmakers the new restroom would be suitable for people with disabilities, for families – and for transgender students. Transgender is an umbrella term that covers all people whose outward appearance and internal identity don’t match their gender at birth.