Transgender Student Rights (TSR) applauds the University of Southern Florida (USF) for changing its housing application to be more accommodating of transitioning students. According to USF's dean of Housing and Residential Education, "College is a time when [students] may be able to make a smoother social transition and begin living life as a new gender and we want to make sure students have that opportunity on our campus." You can read more about the changes from this USF News report.
The various factors at play in the wake of this decision are limitless, but it's hard to avoid discussing the media's reaction to the news. Local news channels such as this one feature one male reporter walking out of a woman's bathroom while discussing the "most controversial" part of the plan. The same video clip features a student bashing the plan as "unacceptable" and as saying that he'd be "disgusted by" living with a transgender student. Is this reporting biased against the plan, or is this fair reporting that provides arguments from both sides?
And while the local media's coverage of this and other transgender issues may be cause for concern, it's certainly an improvement of more ignorant and offensive reporting of days gone by.
What do you think?
The various factors at play in the wake of this decision are limitless, but it's hard to avoid discussing the media's reaction to the news. Local news channels such as this one feature one male reporter walking out of a woman's bathroom while discussing the "most controversial" part of the plan. The same video clip features a student bashing the plan as "unacceptable" and as saying that he'd be "disgusted by" living with a transgender student. Is this reporting biased against the plan, or is this fair reporting that provides arguments from both sides?
And while the local media's coverage of this and other transgender issues may be cause for concern, it's certainly an improvement of more ignorant and offensive reporting of days gone by.
What do you think?
