Free Republic

Construction still uncompleted, students in the new Maximino Martinez Commons had to quickly adjust to concerns raised over the gender-specific bathrooms in the residence hall when they moved in last week. Because the eight bathrooms in the newly opened dorm were originally all gender-specific, some residents felt uncomfortable using a gender-designated bathroom. After the concerns were raised, six bathrooms were made coed, according to an email sent to all residents of the building. “Some people who consider themselves transgender would like the (coed) bathrooms,” said Ciera Dudley, a UC Berkeley sophomore and Martinez Commons resident. ... Erun Kham, a sophomore...

A letter from the Department of Justice (DOJ) caused the University of Arkansas at Ft. Smith (UAFS) early this month to reverse policy and allow a 38-year old anatomically male-student permant use of women's bathrooms on campus despite opposition from female students.The university made the reversal on "advice of counsel" after receiving a letter the DOJ sent in response to a complaint that a single, self proclaimed "transgender" student filed with the DOJ's Civil Rights Division. "Because of the stance we took, the individual filed a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights in the Department of Justice," Mark Horn...

There was a time when boys of easy virtue had to content themselves with sneaking a peek at the girls’ swim team during practice. But social engineers may make this passé with a proposal to allow boys to use girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms. No, this isn’t the plot of a decadent B movie. The story comes out of Maine, with a state proposal that would grant boys claiming to be female the right to use the aforementioned girls’ facilities. It may even give such boys the right to compete on girls’ sports teams. In fact, a boy in the...

We now know the Russian planes were blown up by 1) women 2) from the toilets. This dovetails ominously with a six month old report from US intelligence that Al Qaeda was recruiting female terrorists to smuggle 8-12 ounces of explosives inside their vaginas, then extract them and assemble the bomb and detonate it from toilet. More here, including the likely effect on the racial profiling debate.

The Cecil County Sheriff's Office said a deputy about to take a bathroom break at a gas station smelled crack cocaine and made a quick arrest.

There comes a time when it is neccessary to replace those little rugs that surround the toilet bowl. This is NOT a light undertaking !!

-- SNIP -- Former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., quit last fall over sexually explicit Internet communications with male pages who had worked on Capitol Hill. Sen. Bob Packwood, R-Ore., resigned in 1995 amid allegations he had made unwanted sexual advances to 17 female employees and colleagues and altered his personal diaries to obstruct an ethics investigation. On Saturday, Craig said he would pursue legal options to clear his name. He has retained Billy Martin, a Washington lawyer who represented Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick in his dogfighting case, to pursue his legal options. Washington lawyer Stan Brand will represent Craig...

University of Vermont Adds 'Gender-Neutral' Bathrooms Sunday, August 26, 2007 BURLINGTON, Vt. — The University of Vermont's big new student center doesn't just have women's bathrooms and men's bathrooms. It also has gender-neutral bathrooms, a feature added to accommodate transgendered people, as well as those with some disabilities. The four single bathrooms in the new Dudley H. Davis Center — each with a toilet, sink, shower and lockable door — cost about $2,500 a piece to build. Their wall signs identify each as "gender neutral restroom." "It's about inclusivity and accessibility and the importance of meeting all people's needs, not...

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- The University of Vermont's big new student center doesn't just have women's bathrooms and men's bathrooms. It also has gender-neutral bathrooms, a feature added to accommodate transgendered people, as well as those with some disabilities. The four single bathrooms in the new Dudley H. Davis Center -- each with a toilet, sink, shower, and lockable door -- cost about $2,500 a piece to build. Their wall signs identify each as "gender neutral restroom." "It's about inclusivity and accessibility and the importance of meeting all people's needs, not just a few," said Annie Stevens, assistant vice president for...

UNISEX wash basin areas could be built in schools to help tackle bullying. The move is part of recommendations covering schools in England being rebuilt or refurbished as part of the Government's £45bn Building Schools for the Future (BSF) scheme. BSF aims to rebuild or renew every one of England's 3,500 state secondary schools during the 15-year lifetime of the initiative. The new guidelines were issued by the Government agency responsible for delivering the programme, Partnerships for Schools. Toilets in Schools was published earlier this month and details new toilet block designs to be incorporated into all BSF schools. It...

A ROW has erupted over Muslim-only washrooms at La Trobe University that can be accessed only with a secret push-button code. Muslim students have exclusive access to male and female washrooms on campus, sparking claims of bias and discrimination. The university and Islamic leaders have defended the washrooms as vital to Muslim students' prayer rituals. ... Australian Family Council spokesman Bill Muehlenberg said concerns over the exclusive facilities were valid. "Do we have a Christian washroom or an atheist washroom?" he said. "The whole thing is madness." ... "If Muslims are saying 'we are good Australians and want to integrate',...

NEW YORK, Jan 9 (Reuters Life!) - Home renovators looking to bring life to the smallest room in their home now have the chance -- with a toilet that doubles as an aquarium. The Fish 'n Flush is a clear two-piece toilet tank that replaces a standard toilet tank, with a see-through aquarium wrapping itself around a conventional toilet tank. 'We wanted to develop a product that had a dual purpose - to serve as a proper, fully functional toilet and also as a source of entertainment and conversation,' said Devon Niccole, marketing director of California-based designer AquaOne Technologies Inc....

March 31, 2005 -- A Queens landlord didn't cross-dress the line by ordering that men who dress as women not use the ladies' room, an appeals court ruled. The state Appellate Division made the finding in a ruling made public yesterday, where it dismissed a sex and gender discrimination suit filed by an AIDS awareness group against its Jackson Heights landlord. The Hispanic AIDS Forum said it was discriminated against after the landlord of its 37th Avenue offices backed out of a deal extending their lease "due to various complaints regarding the use of the bathrooms by its transgender clientele,"...

BANGKOK, THAILAND - According to reports by the Associated Press, tranvestite students in a school north of Bangkok Thailand will be getting their own restroom. The Pink Lotus restroom will be for the exclusive use of 15 students at Thailand's Chaing Mai School of Technology. The room contains four stalls and no urinals. Officials say that female students have complained of men being in the women's bathroom, and the students had been chased out of the men's room on multiple occassions. The students are required to dress as men during school hours but are allowed to maintain feminine hairstyles.

Transgender, gay and feminist groups at the University of Chicago are asking officials to consider creating more gender-neutral bathrooms, saying some people aren't comfortable selecting a gender-specific facility. "Persons who are not easily legible as male or female often experience various forms of intimidation in these places. If a woman in a women's-only restroom is assumed to be a man, there may be real threats to her comfort and even safety," warns the Coalition for a Queer Safe Campus, a student group comprised of various organizations supporting equality on campus. "Students have faced gay-baiting comments in our university's sex-segregated bathrooms."...

For most people, deciding which bathroom to use in the Regenstein Library does not require mental gymnastics. But for some, a trip to the restroom is less simple, with gay, lesbian, and transgendered students worried about the implications of which bathrooms they enter. At the Center for Gender Studies on Wednesday night, a panel of four discussed the need for gender-neutral bathrooms on campus, specifically one in the Regenstein and one in Cobb Hall. Members of Feminist Majority, Queers & Associates, and the Center for Gender Studies organized the panel as part of the Coalition for a Queer Safe Campus....

Just when you think that things have settled down on the diversity, multi-cultural and political correctness fronts in our colleges and universities, some newly imagined “outrage” emerges to galvanize students during those hours away from their books. With a long history of being at the forefront of trendy causes, the University of Michigan has become a natural bellwether for detecting heretofore concealed wrongs against some unfortunate group. Once detected, the forces of the university are marshaled into action to rectify the (choose one): a) harassment, b) discrimination, c) oppression. As a demonstration of its bona fides, the U of M...

Student group addresses sexuality, gender issues Alison Pierce Most Stanford students probably don’t spend time thinking about what it means to be “queer.” However, an increasingly visible and vocal queer community exists on campus, and a new student-run group called Querillas seeks to support it by increasing awareness about gender, sexuality and racial issues through activism, discussion and bimonthly meetings. Querillas’ stated mission is “to create and sustain queer activism and to mobilize, educate and empower members of the Stanford community. This is to effect fundamental, long-lasting changes in the University’s structure to ensure a commitment to furthering queer liberation.”...