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KANSAN.COM
NEWS
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Buttons among many steps toward campus inclusivity
▶ EMILY WELLBORN
@Em_Wellborn
New buttons being given out by KU Libraries that identify the wearer's pronouns have sparked national attention, but the libraries aren't the only organization on campus making progressive strides.
The buttons, part of the "You Belong Here" campaign, are meant to make the libraries feel more inclusive to students.
KU Libraries is offering buttons for employees and students to wear that depict their preferred gender pronoun buttons.
Ashley Hocking/KANSAN
"We hope that these buttons, as part of larger efforts to make the libraries an open and welcoming place, will make all students at home," Kevin Smith, dean of libraries, said. "We believe this is an important aspect of facilitating teaching and learning."
The addition to the campaign was suggested by members of the libraries' diversity committee and by employees at the information desks.
"We were responding to an expressed need when we included these buttons," Smith said.
The libraries' staff is encouraged to wear these buttons and give them out to those that ask for them. The buttons, which have received national press coverage, feature the pronouns "he, him, his," "she, her, hers" or "they, them, theirs." However, Vanessa Delgado, the coordinator for the Center for Sexuality and Gender Diversity, said this isn't a new idea at the University.
"It's cool because the libraries got the national
attention ... but they're just not the only ones," Delgado said. "Multiple people on our campus are trying to do this work."
responding to an expressed need when we included these buttons."
Kevin Smith Dean of Libraries
Many organizations and offices, such as the Emily Taylor Center for Women and Gender Equity and the Office of First-Year Experience, already offer similar buttons, and the Office of Multicultural Affairs was one of the first units on campus to use pronouns on their name tags. Some administrators and faculty members have even started including their pronouns in their email signature lines.
The University is already more progressive than other schools, Delgado
said. She said it is rare for institutions to have a fulltime position for someone dedicated to issues in the LGBTQ+ field.
The University has also taken new steps to be more inclusive on campus. Some of these steps include gender-neutral bathrooms, such as the ones in Capitol Federal Hall and the DeBruce Center, and making Lewis Hall gender-inclusive in the fall of 2016.
"We're really a campus that's trying not to be stagnant," Delgado said.
Some of the areas the University can still improve on are better data tracking of LGBTQ+ students, renovating older buildings, and creating more welcoming environments across campus, Delgado said.
Delgado said faculty and students who identify with their assumed pronouns should start introducing themselves with their pronouns in the beginning of the semester to create a more welcoming space.
"It's as essential and important to you as your name
is," Delgado said. "Your pronouns are equally important to you."
Delgado also said the Center for Sexuality and Gender Diversity has more resources for gender-fluid and transgender students, including an email template for how to tell a new professor your pronouns to avoid awkward situations on the first day of class. That will be posted on the center's social media accounts around the beginning of the semester.
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