Female students at East High School in Denver faced an unexpected change upon returning from winter break. Their designated girls’ bathroom on the second floor had been repurposed into an “all gender” restroom. This shift has sparked concern among parents and students who feel that girls are being asked to forfeit their private spaces in order to accommodate the needs of a small section of the student body.
Lori Ramos, a parent from East High School, has voiced her concerns, stating that the comfort and safety of young female students should be a priority. “We, as adults, should be protecting students at all costs. Not using minors for this social experiment,” Ramos emphasized during a recent school board meeting. She believes the decision is “unlawful, immoral and is, in fact, a form of abuse.”
Scott Pribble, Denver’s Public School director, defended the change by describing it as a “convenience for everybody,” although it seems not to consider the impact on female students. “It was becoming a problem for kids that were trying to go to the bathroom during passing period,” he explained during a media interaction. Pribble suggests that limited single-stall bathrooms weren’t adequately meeting student needs, saying, “students were late to the next class because the one or two single stall bathrooms that they had to accommodate this just wasn’t enough for the need that was out there.”
Critics argue that a better solution would be to utilize bathrooms that correspond with students’ biological gender. This alternative would avoid inconveniencing the majority and protect the privacy and sense of safety for female students. However, implementing this solution would require administrators to make decisions that might not align with prevailing social trends.
NEW: Controversy at @DenverEastHS after the school converted one of its girl's bathrooms into a gender-neutral bathroom.
One parent criticized the decision saying the school "sacrificed the comfort of these young females" for a "social experiment." pic.twitter.com/Iz3Dxa4RiX
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 17, 2025
There is a perception that the decision could have been handled differently. Converting a boys’ bathroom or constructing a new facility would have ensured security for female students, yet Pribble expressed that this was a more cumbersome approach. “Taking out urinals would be too hard!” he implied, arguing against the conversion of male facilities. Furthermore, he reasoned that changing the girls’ restroom was the easiest option given the “type of hardware that is in place already in that room.”
This decision has led to accusations that the school’s version of feminism compromises the interests of female students to appeal to emerging gender identity perspectives.
Source: SilverCircular
Leave a Comment