Colleges and universities have been debating how to approach the issue of gender identity, and while some have not made any major advances, it seems that one school in particular has: the University of Vermont. This past week, the New York Times highlighted the story of Rocko Gieselman, who was born a female, but doesn't identify as female or male. In light of this, the Burlington-based university now accomodates students who don't identify as either he or she.
At the University of Vermont, students like Gieselman can now choose a new first name (whether it's been legally changed or not) and a pronoun they like to be referred to by, so that professors can use the correct terminology. By creating a third neutral gender, UVT is giving its students a freedom that has been long sought after, and that is still being fought for at other schools. And the recent changes didn't just come with the snap of a few fingers. The Times reports that the adjustments took over a decade of lobbying and the creation of student and faculty task forces—all totaling about $80,000.
So while the UVT's move is a big one, college campuses across the country still have a long way to go when it comes to the grand scheme of accomodating gender neutral students. What do you think of UVT's recognition of "neutral" as a gender?