Transgender student could be sanctioned for locker room use
By Bill Vidonic, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, December 9, 2011
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/regional/s_771169.html (http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/regional/s_771169.html)
A transgender student at the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown could be banned from extracurricular activities for a year for using a men's locker room.
Seamus Johnston, 22, a junior computer science major from Johnstown, was born female. Two years ago he began identifying as a male. Johnston is undergoing hormone therapy, but has not undergone surgery for a sex change. University records reflect that he is a woman, but Johnston is trying to get those records changed.
On Dec. 2, Johnston said, the university found him guilty under its code of conduct of disorderly conduct, failure to obey a locker room ban and trespassing in the men's locker room. He said he expects to learn the university's sanctions today. They could include one year of probation, which would ban him from extracurricular activities and men's facilities and require him to undergo counseling. Johnston said he would appeal any sanction.
I am Mrs Johnston, Seamus' wife. I am MtF woman. Seamsus now faces a criminal court trial on three misdemeanor counts brought by University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown police. Expulsion apparently was not sufficient punishment. University of Pittsburgh policy specifically forbids discrimination based on "gender presentation or identity." The " main campus" simply rfuses to hold te branch campus to the University's system wide policy. I apologise that I just found this post. I will keep you up dated.
Katie-Anne
For a more recent article concerning this situation, please follow this link:
http://www.utimes.pitt.edu/?p=19466 (http://www.utimes.pitt.edu/?p=19466)
Committee member Deborah Brake, who specializes in discrimination law, said: "....that it's understood that when you commit to not discriminate on the basis of gender identity, you are committed to recognizing the person's self-identity of the gender. That is, to deny a gender identity by classifying a person by their birth sex violates the very promise of nondiscrimination."
+1 for someone there who get's it..