“I had to talk to my counselor and my grade level principal just to know where gender neutral restrooms are and to be able to use them, [and] a lot of other kids don’t know that those are a thing or are uncomfortable with reaching out to adults and [having to] say ‘Hey, I’m different.' We need to make [restrooms] more accessible so gender neutral people can just walk in without having to ask permission.”

It also shouldn’t be teachers’ responsibility to take extra time to collect information on peoples’ pronouns and where they would like them to be used. Making this an editable feature in Infinite Campus would help make gender-neutral and genderqueer pronouns more accepted and reduce instances of mis-identifying anyone.

In addition to this, the school should also have a dedicated LGBTQ+ resource center, a safe space to hang out, and/or a dedicated, trusted adult to talk to.

“If genderqueer people are experiencing bullying or harassment, or just are having a hard time, it can be hard for kids to seek out their counselor, someone who they go to to talk about everything, to say they’re being bullied for LGBTQ+ discriminiation specifically.”

These steps are long overdue. It's time we let outdated traditions serve as our wake up call to make these lasting changes.