Gender identity referendum passed

Gender identity clause passed with 82 percent of the vote.

By Campbell Massie

Published April 9, 2009

A Missouri Students Association referendum to include "gender identity and expression" into the organization's non-discrimination clause passed Wednesday with 82 percent of the vote.

Gender identity and expression is meant to protect those who are "gender non-conforming" from discrimination, which refers to people who identify as transgender, a gender that is not their biological sex. The inclusion of this language goes "to support the larger effort to offer equal opportunity to all students," the referendum states.

The ballot contained the gender inclusion referendum as well as MSA Senate candidates and the change to the academic calendar.

Triangle Coalition President Asher Kolieboi found the turnout to be overwhelming and representative of campus.

"People like to paint the picture that this campus is divided but I think we proved that wrong," Kolieboi said.

Last month, referendums including the addition of a sustainability fee to student fees and the renewal of the university's commitment to the Associated Students of the University of Missouri, were put to vote by the students.

The referendums were passed with 2,584 students voting in the sustainability referendum and 2,587 voting in the ASUM referendum, Board of Elections Commissioners chairman Dan Kelley said.

The sustainability referendum was used to show student support for increased sustainability on campus, MSA President Jordan Paul said.

"Those were used to justify one of the few increases that the board saw," Paul said.

The only other fee increase was the student center fee, which was also passed by referendum, Paul said.

The gender referendum saw 2,780 students voting with 2,297 students voting for the inclusion of "gender identity and expression" and 483 voting against.

With more voter turnout for this referendum, Paul hopes that there will be an effect at both the university and system level.

"I feel those would be an acceptable number to prove a change in university policy," Paul said.

The next step for the gender inclusion movement is to implement inclusion across campus in different organizations' policies, Paul said.

"We need to get support from all the schools, CAFNR, Arts and Science, etc., and basically get it included everywhere," Fluidity President Emily Colvin said.

The ultimate goal is to have the gender inclusion clause be part of the university system's non-discrimination policy, but the next step is to put the notion in front of the UM system Board of Curators to have it implemented at the university level, Colvin said.