Beyond the doors remains a fight for equality
Under unofficial policy, Pierce allows students to use whichever bathroom they decide aligns with their gender identify.
July 7, 2026
Pierce College recently announced that transgender and non-binary people are able to use whichever restroom aligns with their gender identity.
This decision was closely followed by Puyallup School Districts decision to make all locker rooms and restrooms non-gender specific. These policies have been popping up nationwide in what many are calling The Year of the Transgender.
Transgender people are those whose gen- der identity does not align with the gender they were assigned at birth. For example, Laverne Cox, from the very popular Or- ange is the New Black, was assigned male at birth, but identifies and presents as female.
Holly Gorski, the Vice President of Hu- man Resources, said this policy came about when HR received multiple inquiries from staff about what the policy was for trans students.
“We found that people didn’t know what the policy was,” said Gorski. “The rule ba- sically is leave folks alone when they’re in the bathroom. Someone going about their business is not cause for concern.”
Gorski went on to clarify that there is no official Pierce College policy for this matter; it is simply in accordance with the Washington Law Against Discrimination and Pierce College’s Anti-Discrimination policy. The Title 9 protections also extend to transgender students.
“What we have is a non-discrimination policy,” Gorski said. “I don’t know if we necessarily need a bathroom specific pol- icy.”
The Washington Law Against Discrimi- nation protects transgender people’s use of public accommodations. It has yet to be ex- pressly stated by the government whether or not this applies to restrooms. However, Pierce College has decided that on campus grounds, all transgender and non-binary people are free to use whichever restroom best aligns with their gender identity.
An important distinction to make is the difference between gender identity and gender expression. Gender identity is how you see your gender. Gender ex- pression is how you present your gender. That being said, someone who looks rather
masculine could enter the “women’s” rest- room, because they feel very much like a women. This is a classic example of iden- tity over expression. With Pierce’s policy, these individuals have every right to use the “women’s” restroom, even though they defy our society’s traditional expectations of women.
Critics of this recent progressive move- ment claim that allowing transgender people into restrooms gives bullies eas- ier access to their targets. Charlie Burr, spokesman for the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, reports that there have been “zero allegations” of trans people sexually assaulting cisgender people in the restroom in Oregon State. In addition, the Fenway Institute reports that 65% of transgender people have experience harassment in one or more public accommodations in the last twelve months alone.
The email Gorski sent out to notify Pierce staff of the policy stated that those facing discrimination should contact Cam- pus Security. Although Campus Security does not have a policy for discrimination against transgender students at this time.
At this point in time, there are no educa- tion opportunities for non-trans students. Human Resources is currently planning a training seminar for staff to learn about transgender issues on campus.
