Stanford University officially unveiled a new all-gender locker room last Friday.
According to the The College Fix, construction on the the locker room, which is located at the Arrillaga Outdoor Education and Recreation Center, began last August. The facility is meant to “provide a more inclusive environment” and is open to “anyone regardless of gender identity.”
The all-gender locker room is situated on the lower level of the AOERC and was converted from men’s and women’s restrooms. The locker room feature three private showers with changing rooms, one dry changing room, five private bathroom stalls and day-use lockers.
According to Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities and Operations Rebecca Carpenter, the Stanford community has been “more vocal about all-gender spaces” in recent years.
“We’ve had a handful of faculty, staff and students meet with us about inclusive opportunities within recreation facilities,” Carpenter told Stanford News.
An open house for the new locker room welcomed several partner groups, including Weiland Health Initiative, which is responsible for the Gender Inclusive Stanford Initiative. The group aims to improve campus life for transgender and gender non-conforming members of the campus community.
“One of the projects that has been going on for a while is increasing the number of gender-inclusive bathrooms or changing facilities at gyms that are available on campus,” Weiland Health Associate Caroline Zha said. “There aren’t a lot of spaces for students who feel uncomfortable going into either a male or a female bathroom to carry out basic bodily functions.”
The project is in keeping with Stanford’s efforts to have gender-inclusive single-occupancy restrooms in all buildings by 2020.
