Recently, Michelle Rayner, a transgender student at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, was assaulted in a bathroom on campus. Rayner is a transgender man, but he has not yet transitioned and is often disrespected in public bathrooms.

After class, he used the bathroom at James Dunn Hall. In a frightening and dangerous incident, he was called a “faggot” and punched in the lower lip in a women’s bathroom.

Rayner was using the women’s bathroom because, while he identifies as a man, he feels safer in women’s bathrooms. The fact that only “men’s” and “women’s” bathrooms are available on campus gives Rayner no option to use the bathroom without fear of harassment.

Please ask St. Thomas University to provide gender-neutral bathrooms so that their students can safely use the bathroom. Also, ask that the university increase LGBT awareness programming and educate students about transgender issues, to prevent future attacks against transgender individuals.