New gender-neutral bathrooms available in Arts Building

The move follows lobbying of College authorities by TCDSU

NEWS

New gender-neutral bathrooms, located in the Arts Building, are now available to students. The development comes as the result of Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) lobbying College authorities for additional restroom facilities to be made available.

Speaking to Trinity News, SU Welfare Officer Aoibhinn Loughlin explained: “We didn’t change the physical toilets. We changed the signage and that’s what took so long because it had to be approved and the signs had to be ordered”.

Plans for the bathrooms were originally presented by former SU Welfare Officer Conor Clancy to the Trinity Equality Committee in 2015.

The issue surrounding the lack of gender-neutral bathrooms on campus has been a cause of contention in recent times. It has been one of the most popular topics at hustings amongst candidates for the Welfare Office in the annual SU Leadership Race.

Loughlin told Trinity News that she would like to expand upon the number of gender-neutral bathrooms in the college at present: “It is something that I would like to do certainly, but at this point I don’t think that it would happen because many

of the toilets have already been made into communal spaces. I don’t think College would be for making all toilets gender-neutral at this stage”. She did note that the SU are currently trying to expand the number of gender-neutral bathrooms to locations outside the Arts Building.

The new gender-neutral bathrooms can be found beside the following rooms in the Arts Building: Room 3042, Room 4032 and Room 5021, on the third, fourth and fifth floors respectively.

Una Harty

Úna is a third year Nanoscience student and Trinity Life editor for Trinity News.