Discrimination is still a large part of today’s society. Although some of this discrimination may be intentional, inadvertent discrimination can cause harm as well.

Most of us recognize North Dakota is (generally speaking) a conservative state. Due to its lack of diversity acceptance, there are many issues with the safety and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community in a university environment.

“We are in a state that offers no protection for LGBT at all,” David Kurttiz said during a discussion group at the NDSU Teach-In.

Going to the bathroom, class or even the dorms can be a stressful event in the life of someone who identifies as LGBTQ+ here in North Dakota.

“While there have been many steps towards achieving acceptance there of course is room for major change. We have come pretty far for a rural university but there’s definitely more to go,” Kurttiz said.

Transgender bathrooms have been a hot topic for a while now. But why do some people suddenly feel so unsafe that they must make what is already an uncomfortable experience even more uncomfortable? What makes the fact that we are now fighting to acknowledge that some people don’t fit a societal norm for gender specific bathrooms so important to you? Are you suddenly going to peek under someone’s skirt or threaten a pat down for them to empty their bladder?

Already at NDSU we have gained a few gender-neutral bathrooms, but this tiny change isn’t enough to create awareness for a bigger issue.

Campuses should be a place where people are comfortable expressing who they are. No one should have to walk across the campus to use the bathroom or fear their roommate is going to hate them due to how they identify themself.

Bathrooms, dorms and expression aren’t the only issues present on campus. Signing up for classes is a long thought-out process. You want to enjoy the class that you are spending money on.

But what if you also had to worry about representation? So many classes have little to no representation of the LGBTQ+ community. I’m not saying the marine biology class should talk about accepting your mind and body or discuss relationships with a same sex partner, but even those classes that should discuss the LGBTQ+ community tend to exclude it.

LGBTQ+ awareness is important to create a safe and inclusive environment.

Safe zone training, education and simply listening to understand are all things that you can do to prevent uncomfortable situations for another human being.

Constantly being aware of how your actions and words affect others is so important today. Thinking about how can we help others feel more comfortable is an important step in the right direction.