AUSTIN, Texas — Students at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) have released a report that analyzes the inclusivity on campus for the LGBTQIA+ community.
The report claims "The University of Texas at Austin does not offer the inclusivity that LGBTQIA+ students and other historically-oppressed groups demand."
"These groups include, but are not limited to, those within the BIPOC, disabled, lower-income, and gender-oppressed communities, and we emphasize that the lack of the university’s inclusivity is especially true for students in the intersections of these communities," the report said.
This report is a follow-up to analysis done in October of 2006 by the Queer Student Alliance at The University of Texas at Austin titled "The State of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin.”
The UT students that conducted this 2022 reiteration of the analysis collected data from a 100-question survey approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). The students received 2,024 completed responses through a university-wide email from the Senate of College Councils, the use of social media and outreach to faculty and staff, the report states.
The group of UT students gave a list of 48 recommendations, which include but are not limited to: providing free STD testing, increasing the number of gender-inclusive bathrooms and expanding UT’s Gender Identification system.
UT President Jay Hartzell has pledged to create “an environment on the Forty Acres where all community members—students, faculty and staff—are empowered to be true to themselves, to participate fully in our vibrant university and to thrive as individuals.”
The students argue that, based on the data collected from their report, UT has "much work to do in reaching this admirable goal." The report states that the students presented this report to Hartzell, which included six immediate changes they believe would make a recognizable impact on campus life for the LGBTQIA+ community:
- The addition of an additional full-time outreach staff position in the Gender and Sexuality Center (GSC)
- The creation of a gender-inclusive restroom in the University Teaching Center (UTC)
- The creation of a gender-inclusive locker room in Gregory Gymnasium
- The President's support towards the departmentalization of Women's & Gender Studies (WGS)
- Considering the completion of trainings such as the GSC's Allies in Action Training in the process of tenure
- Guarantee that University of Texas Police Department (UTPD) does not receive an increase in funding
KVUE reached out to UT officials for comment on the report and received the following statement:
"UT Austin is committed to fostering a campus that is inclusive, equitable, and accessible to all LGBTQIA+ people, where all members of our diverse community can thrive, and welcomes suggestions from our community on how to achieve these goals."
To read the full report, click here.
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