Top Ten Transgender Friendly Colleges

Campus Pride has published this list of top ten colleges in the United States on their Campus Climate Index that are particularly trans friendly and have pro-trans policies and programs.

The Top Ten:

Ithaca College – Ithaca, New York
New York University – New York, New York
Princeton University – Princeton, New Jersey
University of California, Los Angeles – Los Angeles, California
University of California, Riverside – Riverside, California
University of Massachusetts, Amherst – Amherst, Massachusetts
University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, Michigan
University of Oregon – Eugene, Oregon
University of Pennsylvania – Philadephia, Pennsylvania
University of Vermont – Burlington, Vermont

While I am not at all surprised at the selection or the fact they all are located on the West Coast or in the Northeast, I am surprised that Portland State University and UC Santa Cruz and Berkeley did not make the list.

This list is a good starting point, but by no means a complete list of schools that are trans-friendly. Many schools across the country are making strides in the way of LGBTQ folk and are great places for trans* people to go to school, even if they didn't make the list. Even schools in the south (like my alma mater, University of North Florida) are making strides in terms of creating a safe space for trans* students to go to school and are always open to ideas as to what they can do to accommodate transgender students and make their college experience as pleasant as possible.

In locations like the South and Midwest where one doesn't find the same mind-set of the progressive Northeast and West Coast, institutions of higher education are taking to the transgender movement more quickly than their non-university counterparts.

"Are You a Girl?" [video]

In this video I recount the experience I had with the administration at the university where I graduated. I had to have my transcripts sent to Portland State University so I had to stop by student services. I have been getting alumni mail addressed to “Ms. Asher,” which is frustrating – I never thought to do a gender change within the university, and I guess they didn't get the memo when the name changed from Christina to Charles.

After the guy was done processing my transcript request form, he asked me if there was anything else he could help me with. I told him about getting mail as “Ms.” and asked if they “accidentally” had me as female in their system. He looked, turned bright red, and told me they did.

Then he asks, “you're not a girl are you?”

I found this question fairly ridiculous considering he was asking a dude with a beard if he was a girl. I think the whole “Ms.” thing threw him off so much that he didn't really think about what he was asking – I don't think the trans thing even crossed his mind.

If he has asked if I was a transguy or if I had been born female/assigned female at birth, I wouldn't have said no – but I live and navigate the world as male and am not a girl. Simple as that. It's not my problem if he didn't connect the dots!

I have gained a lot more confidence in dealing with situations in which “the trans thing” comes up – whether it be administration at my old college, flying and TSA body scans, or running into someone from my past. I am always matter-of-fact about it and up front – there is no reason not to be, and a little education and awareness go a long way.