Milford High students protest school's urinal BAN after row over separating bathrooms by biological sex
MILFORD, MICHIGAN: Students at a New Hampshire high and middle school walked out after the school banned urinals and shared locker rooms in a "compromise" to mandate that blocked students from using seperate facilities based on sex and not their gender identity. The 45-minute protest started on Friday, February 10, with more than 150 students walking out of the Milford High School and middle school to oppose the new bathroom restrictions.
"Nobody that I know – ask anyone here – no one requested this change," student Jay Remella told WMUR. He also added that many were unware of the new policy and that it was made "solely by the school board member and a complaint by a parent." The Friday's protest came as a result of a long debate by the Board of Education over whether to separate school bathrooms and locker rooms by the sex assigned at birth or by gender identity.
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The ban on urinals was proposed by Board of education member Noah Boudreault as part of a compromise that passed by a 4-1 vote on Monday, February 6. Superintendent Christi Michaud reported that many students, especially males, expressed concern and displeasure and asked members of her team several questions about the newly implemented restroom restrictions.
What do the LGBTQ students want?
"They feel as though there wasn't an issue or a concern here at the high school," she said. Nico Romeri, a 16-year-old transgender student, spoke at a February 6 school board meeting urging the board to reject the ban. He said the measures could have a negative impact on the mental health of the district's LGBTQ students. He urged that he and other queer students want to be treated the same as cisgender students.
"I want my high school experience to be just like everyone else's just like getting my license, taking biology class, and figuring my life out, not fighting for it," the sophomore student said. He also told school leaders and parents that they "should not let fear dictate their actions." "I see all these scared people on both sides not knowing what to do yet wanting to help their children in different ways," he said. "The best way you can help your children is not discriminating against their peers but listening and helping your child grow. That is all we want."
There are 1,200 middle and high school students. Most of the stalls are for girls, and these stands are not properly distributed among the schools and the sexes. Boudreault's plan also prohibits students from using the common changing areas in the school locker rooms and excludes the use of urinals. Students who change for class PE are supposed to do so in a bathroom stall.
What did board of education member Noah Boudreault say?
Boudreault told the Globe that 'the issue at hand for me is student safety." He told the news outlet that he does not consider the LGBTQ youth or their peers as inherently dangerous. However, he pointed out that something needs to be done, citing concerns raised about Wheeler's proposal, student privacy and bathroom access in general.
"My proposed solution took care of a myriad of other issues that the school district is experiencing," he said, "so instead of fighting the gender fight, I decided to fight the larger fight."