OMA/GendeRev map of gender neutral restrooms on campus

OMA/GendeRev map of gender neutral restrooms on campus

Update (3/27): Full list of buildings with gender neutral bathrooms under the jump.

Assuming there are no major complications, Columbia plans to add gender neutral bathrooms to its list of summer renovations for Lerner Hall and more. This comes as a result of collaborations between student group GendeRevolution, various members of student government (including University Senator Marc Heinrich, CC ’16, and CCSC VP of Communications Peter Bailinson ’16), and the Lerner Hall administration.

These conversations were sparked in part by results from last year’s Quality of Life Survey, where many self-identified trans students expressed dissatisfaction with various aspects of campus life. Many trans Columbia students find it difficult to feel safe or comfortable in traditionally gendered restrooms–Bwog’s own Features Editor Alexander Pines wrote, “the first time I used the men’s restroom on the fifth floor of Lerner I was literally scared shitless when a janitor walked in” to describe his experiences for The Blue and White.

Over the summer in Lerner Hall, the fourth floor restrooms will be converted to a layout similar to Mel’s while gendered bathrooms will remain on the basement, first, second, third, and fifth floors. All future renovations in residence halls will convert the multi-stall restrooms into several single-use private rooms. Some dorms already have these in place–the fifth and sixth floors of Harmony, for example, have a gender neutral restroom in addition to the gendered hall bathrooms. Over this summer, McBain 7 and 8 will receive gender neutral, single-use bathrooms (it has them on 2 already), as will John Jay 12-15. Check out this map, courtesy of GendeRev, for more gender neutral locations on campus–keep in mind that the map is a couple of years old, though.

This comes a year after Barnard changed their restrooms to gender neutral (by changing the signage) and incoming first years will be able to specify on their Housing application that they would prefer to live in a dorm/on a hall with gender neutral bathrooms.

Buildings and halls with gender neutral bathrooms:

  • John Jay lobby
  • Wallach first floor
  • All Wallach residence floors
  • Schapiro lobby
  • Schapiro 2-9
  • Furnald first floor (two gender inclusive bathrooms on the South end of the building)
  • Carman lobby
  • Broadway lobby
  • Wien 2-10 and 12 (it’s at the end of the hall, not ideal on a big floor)
  • EC
  • Ruggles
  • Hogan
  • 47 Claremont
  • River
  • Nussbaum
  • Hartley suite bathrooms 3-8
  • Watt
  • Woodbridge
  • Symposium
  • The IRC
  • Carman (one bathroom per suite, though suites tend to be single sex)
  • Brownstones
  • Harmony 5 and 6