I go to a community college, and the semester starts January 19th. I found out yesterday that they will not remove my legal name from the online classlist that all of my peers will have access to. They will once my name is changed legally, but not before. I explained to them that I'm transgender and this is an issue of my personal safety, but they still won't change it. I talked to the supervisor of records  at the main campus, so it's not like I can go above their head (I would assume). don't know what to do. So now I have a little over two weeks to try and rush and get my name changed legally, which honestly is probably not going to happen.

Is there anything I can do about this? I live in Tennessee.

James, I have no idea whether you can get your named changed in Tennessee in the next two weeks.  You'd have to look into that yourself, or maybe somebody else from Tennessee on this forum can advise you.

I think I'd try to go over the head of the supervisor of records.  Find out whoever's above him/her and see them.  This is a policy that should be considered by the top brass at the college, in my opinion.

One of my experiences: not too long ago I wanted to get my diploma from the university I graduated from revised to show my new legal name.  The low level clerk I first dealt with simply told me it couldn't be done.  His explanation was that "your diploma indicates your name at the time you graduated."  Well, duh!  Of course it does.  That's precisely the problem.  That's not my name any more.

So I went over his head and got the same answer from his superior.  So I went over her head to the top person in that department, who, after a fair bit of time for reflection, at length realized, I believe, that it was a pointless policy. Sometimes people change their names and why make a big deal about it? So eventually I got a new diploma with my new name.

Sometimes it does pay to go over somebody's head.  Explain to the higher-up's that it's a question of your safety and psychological well-being(which, presumably, they do have some responsibility for), and you might get somewhere with them.  There is a growing recognition these days of transpeople's needs and rights, and you might get lucky and find a person who's aware of and sympathetic towards them.

Good luck.

That must really be painful. And in Tennessee I don't envy you.

Tennessee is not a friendly place, I'm sorry to say.  Having said that, if your school has any sort of LGBT center, LGBT club, or something of that nature, it might be worth reaching out to them for help. 

Hey,

I work at a college in the UK. Some of the buzz words that may help are:

- vulnerable person
- duty of care
- promoting equality and diversity

I don't know if this helps, you already have the personal safety bit so that's on your side. In my college, you say any of the above and everyone gets in a flap.

Good luck, I can't believe they are being that bad about it.

I've been through this BS with the Indiana BMV. Every document, every legal paper I have reflects my new name and gender except My driver's  license. I just got my CDL. I don't want other people to know I am trans. Especially other drivers. Truck driving is the 10th most dangerous job in the US. People go missing on this job. I don't want to be another TDOR statistic. Fortunately, my recruiting team is doing all they can for me. I should have a new CDL with a corrected gender marker. If my new birth certificate comes through in time then I should be able to get my name changed too, just in time for orientation.

So I feel your pain. A race against the clock is not fun.

ETSU was very friendly when I asked for my old BS and MS to be changed to my new name. And my second BS was in the new name automatically.  However I had legally changed my name.  What university still gives out student details like name?

TN name change is actually very easy considering how hostile the state is.  Just stop by your local courthouse and file the petition (you can get the appropriate forms online).  Within a few days I had a registered letter stating my court date which was less than 2 weeks away.  Name changes are only handled on certain days all in a row.  Its going to be rough, but go ahead and get the name changed for next semester at the least.

Quote from: Talim on January 03, 2015, 04:09:46 PM
I've been through this BS with the Indiana BMV. Every document, every legal paper I have reflects my new name and gender except My driver's  license. I just got my CDL. I don't want other people to know I am trans. Especially other drivers. Truck driving is the 10th most dangerous job in the US. People go missing on this job. I don't want to be another TDOR statistic. Fortunately, my recruiting team is doing all they can for me. I should have a new CDL with a corrected gender marker. If my new birth certificate comes through in time then I should be able to get my name changed too, just in time for orientation.

There's no reason at all why they shouldn't change your name on your driver's license if you've had your name changed on everything else. Once I had my name changed via the courts and then the SSA, it was a piece of cake. The skanks that worked at the local BMV were total bitches but they did what I asked them to do. I think they were fired at some point afterwards. When I went back a couple of years later to get my gender marker changed, none of them were working there. As far as the gender marker was concerned, I had everything that was needed. I just slapped the stack of papers/documents down on the counter and I said: "Do it!". I was in and out of there within 15 minutes with a temporary ID (since they would send me my actual ID card in the mail. Which I think is really stupid, but, oh well) that had my new gender marker on it.

I'm a special case though. I came from the UK and over there, we change our name via deed poll. It's so easy to do too. No hassles. But the BMV says they wont accept it. Which is stupid

James, is there a local LGBT support organization, like PFLAG, that can help advocate for you? Is there a gay/straight alliance on campus? It would really help to have some allies on your side. If this becomes a real headache for the school administration, they might be more likely to relent.

Quote from: Talim on January 04, 2015, 03:06:55 AM
I'm a special case though. I came from the UK and over there, we change our name via deed poll. It's so easy to do too. No hassles. But the BMV says they wont accept it. Which is stupid

Oh! I see. That would make things more complicated. Yeah, that's absurd that they won't accept that as a proper document.

Hey everybody.
Sorry I haven't been able to respond yet.
A little more info based on the questions/recommendations:

- I've had a very hard time trying to get my name changed so far. The clerk's office refused to give me a form (they literally told me the form doesn't exist) and so I drafted my own petition, which they then refused to notarize. No one will give me any information, and they've all been super rude. I've got a feeling this is mostly due to transphobia in the small community where I live. Because of this + the school's imposed deadline, I've decided to hire a lawyer for the name change. I don't want to. I don't want to spend my savings on a lawyer. But I don't see much of a choice at this point...because the system is against me at every turn, and this is my only hope of maybe getting this taken care of in time for school.

- There is no local LGBTQ organization here...there's nothing here lol
The closest metro area is Nashville, which is about 75 miles from where I live.
I did make a few posts on the facebook pages of some nonprofits. They all offered me advice, but I guess they're not able to do anything? Idk

EDIT: there are also no lgbt organizations on campus. Since its a community college they actually don't have any clubs/groups at all.

- I'm planning on calling the college back today and seeing who else I can talk to.

Quote from: jamesdoran on January 05, 2015, 10:15:00 AM
[...] I've decided to hire a lawyer for the name change. I don't want to. I don't want to spend my savings on a lawyer. But I don't see much of a choice at this point...because the system is against me at every turn, and this is my only hope of maybe getting this taken care of in time for school.

Ugh, so sorry you're having to do this, but this sounds like the right thing to do. Maybe if nothing else they'll realize that they're going to cost themselves some $ for no actual benefit.

Because, you know, if people can go around changing their names in the system, society is going to crumble, right?

Is it too late for canceling the lawyer visit?   Here are the forms - http://www.selegal.org/Family%20Law.htm


edit:

Jeni it doesn't hurt the court at all if a lawyer is used.  The only extra cost is going to be on the petitioner to have the forms drafted.  There will be no costs to the court apart from the hearing itself which is always paid for by the petitioner.

Maybe I misinterpreted james, I read his post to mean that the lawyer was going to help fight with the school. But looking back, I think I probably got it wrong. Oops. I guess I was too excited at the prospect of punishing the college for being stupid.

Still, if you're in a hurry, having the help of a lawyer who has been through the bureaucracy before can help avoid delays. I don't know anything about this specific case, though, so maybe it's not necessary.

I know that having a lawyer isn't necessary...but these people have been fighting me from day 1. I've been trying to get this stuff done since November...

I wouldn't even hire a lawyer except for the fact that if my name isn't changed in like 2 weeks, it's going to suck. And since I've been trying to deal with them for months...I just don't see everything getting done without a lawyer.

James, I'm not a lawyer, but here's something you should discuss with yours.

The constitution guarantees us "due process" which means that no one can be denied access to the judicial system when we need it. It seems that's exactly what's happening to you. There may be grounds to recover your legal fees if the local authorities violated your rights.

Obviously this isnt the best solution but if you cant get your name changed in time lie and blame in on your parents.  It somewhat depends on your name, but many names are now being used untaditionally.  It could be a version of your mothers middle name, some relative you were named after, or your parents really liked that name regardless of  if it made sense. 

The other option is blame it on school administration.  They made a mistake and put the wrong first name on your file.  Again depends on your ability to lie well.

Just ideas.  I really hope your situation works out.