NSCS v. conservatives – the fight for gender identity

Nebraska conservatives are enraged this week after the Nebraska State College System’s Board of Trustees updated a policy and created a new one that protects the gender identity rights of employees and, frankly, that couldn’t make me happier.

Board Policy 5012 is a new policy approved by the Board that addresses “chosen names and gender identity issues for employees.”

To sum it up, the policy asks for employees to respect the chosen names and self-asserted genders of other employees. The other policy that is being attacked is Board Policy 5007, which was originally passed in 2015. The policy is being revised to provide “clarification related to color and race discrimination” and add pregnancy and gender identity to the list of protected classes.

It seems pretty simple; they’re asking for people to treat others with basic human decency and respect. Or as Christians put it, treat others the way you want to be treated.

But, of course, that’ll never be the case.

Nebraska Public Media reported on Nov. 12 that Chancellor Paul Turman received 300 emails about asking the Board to vote ‘no’, because they go against “the principles of conservative Nebraskans.”

In a written statement to the Board, the Nebraska Family Alliance claimed that the policy is “ideologically driven” and will “allow biological men into women’s restrooms.”

Even Governor Pete Ricketts went so far to release a statement asking the Board to vote ‘no’ to the revision.

“The inclusion of ‘gender identity’ as a protected class in Board Policy 5007 and Board Policy 5012 reflects the ideological and unscientific concept that sex is ‘assigned at birth,’” the letter states. “This is a concept being pushed at the national level by political activists. Adopting the proposed policies would impose gender ideology on Nebraska State College campuses by discouraging teachers and students to speak freely and act in accordance with science and their judgements about the biologically determined nature of males and females.”

He later went on to write that the policies would increase sexual assault because adding gender identity as a protected class would be giving men a “guarantee of access” to women’s restrooms.

It never ceases to amaze me that people only seem to care for the safety of women when their ‘traditional’ personal views on gender identity are attacked. What about the women that have been getting raped and sexually assaulted everywhere else?

While it is not my place to speak on behalf of nonbinary or transgender people, I can relay their arguments.

No nonbinary or transgender person who is entering a women’s restroom is going in there with the intent of sexually assaulting anyone in there. They are going in there because that is the restroom that aligns with their gender.

If conservatives are so worried about men entering women’s restrooms to sexually assault or rape people, maybe that says a lot about how we teach men about respecting consent.

Ricketts also points out that the policies would be impeding First Amendment rights, citing the recent U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals case Meriwether v. Hartop, et al. The Court ruled that Shawnee State College should not have punished Nicholas Meriwether, a philosophy professor, for refusing to use a student’s preferred pronoun because it violated Meriwether’s right to free speech and freedom of religion.

I was raised Catholic and I distinctly remember that one of the things I was told to do was respect everyone, regardless of their differences. So why are we claiming that respecting someone’s chosen name and pronouns is a violation of our freedom of religion?

As for freedom of speech, sure don’t call them by their chosen name, but don’t ask for any respect from them in return. Because trust me, you won’t get it.

The point of these policies isn’t to force people to agree with gender identity and chosen names, even though that would probably eliminate so many issues, they’re simply trying to give people a safe space to exist at work.

There’s a reason young people are leaving Nebraska. It’s the fact that anyone who doesn’t fit the conservative ideology is treated terribly.

The uproar around these policies underscores the bigotry in our state and I honestly find it disgusting. I’m proud of the Board of Trustees for granting a safe space and being LGBTQ+ allies but I’m ashamed for the Nebraskans who have decided to side with the suppression of differences.