Princeton Students Advocate For Gender-Neutral Locker Rooms

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton Middle School students made a presentation to the BOE during the last Board of Education meeting, advocating for gender-neutral locker rooms.

Student representatives were told by their peers that many of them did not feel comfortable changing in the two-gendered locker rooms provided by the school.

For their short presentation, the students interviewed their peers about their thoughts on gender-neutral locker rooms.

Although PMS students have the option to change in a gender-neutral bathroom, many students don’t prefer that as “it’s small, it’s one stall and you’ll just be walking down the hallway with a swimsuit on,” said student presenter Julia S.

In the interviews, gender queer students said having gender-neutral locker rooms would make them feel more comfortable and welcome at PMS.

One of the suggestions put forward by the students was to convert the current women’s team locker room to a gender-neutral one.

“The layout would be five bathroom stalls and five showers. And we think it's a good idea to keep the men's team room for its original purpose,” said student representative Indie B.

The students suggested applying for grants to help pay for converting the locker room into a gender-neutral space.

Students cited a study by glsen.org that reported 70 percent of transgender students saying they avoided using bathrooms as they felt uncomfortable and unsafe. According to the same report, 60 percent of transgender students said they were forced to use a bathroom or locker room that did not match their gender.

After their presentation, Board president Dafna Kendal thanked the students for their advocacy and asked if PMS principal Jason Burr was on board with the idea.

“He was really proud of the students, and he kind of advised us to take it to the next step and bring it to the board,” said student counselor Sharon DiSebastian.

Board member Betsy Baglio said she appreciated students for their advocacy. “You are solutions-oriented, you're already thinking about grants,” said Baglio. “We need people like you to continue to advocate for all students, and you've done a great first step here.”

Board member Debbie Bronfeld praised the students for backing up their presentation with facts and research. "I think it's really beautiful that you created all this and brought it to us,” Bronfeld said. “I can tell how passionate you are. And I'm excited for the board to kind of take it on to the next step.”

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