Tolerance at Harvard: Students Lag Behind Administration

[Shana A]

Tolerance at Harvard: Students Lag Behind Administration
Part III in a III Part Series
By Tara W. Merrigan, CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Published: Friday, May 13, 2011

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2011/5/13/trans-morgan-students-name-harvard/

After graduating from Harvard in 2010, Morgan never bothered ordering his diploma. The document—the symbol of so much hard work—still included his feminine middle name, and it served as a stinging reminder of an identity that Morgan had shed long before.

While still at the College, Morgan, who is trans and has since began transitioning from female to male, had started using male pronouns—he, his, him—and coming out to close friends. As a natural next step, Morgan filed a request with the Registrar that his feminine middle name be omitted from his official school records.

[spacial]

As the session wrapped up, one tutor asked, "Well, how many people are we really talking about here?"

The astonishing lack of logic and comprehsion shown here beggars belief.

It puts me in mind of some political and finance types, a number of years ago, who were resisting calls for disabled access to be included in public building. The argument was, they don't get many disabled people using the buildings. Eventually, even they saw the point.

I would hope that transgender isn't too common. If it is, then the problem may be a bit more serious than we apreciate. But while transgender people are prevented from openinly identifying, we can never really know.

That might suit some, but is hardly in the spirit of any educational institution.

[tekla]

What's that really saying?  That HS graduates, even the better ones, lag behind people with PhDs in tolerance?  Is that not a huge reason why they are there?  Are we somehow - well I guess some of us are - that high school graduates are less educated than college professors?  That hardly seems shocking.

And 'quantify this' seems like a reasonable reaction.