AMHERST — A weeklong occupation of the restrooms in the University of Massachusetts Amherst administration building began Monday, with protesters demanding a speedy rollout of gender-neutral bathrooms across campus.

Gender Liberation UMass is occupying most of the bathroom stalls in Whitmore, home of the offices of the chancellor and other key administrators, in what they’re calling a “S--t-in.”

Protesters are demanding that the university quickly increase the number of gender-neutral bathrooms in campus buildings.

Gender-neutral bathrooms at UMass are currently limited to single-stall ones designed for use by those who are handicapped. Not every campus building has those bathrooms, which means that a safe bathroom is not always easily accessible. Plus, when someone without a disability must use those handicapped bathrooms, it takes those bathrooms away from those with disabilities, said Justin Kilian, one of the organizers.

“We’re coming together to make a statement about the fact that there are so few bathrooms available to trans students,” Kilian said.

Kilian said the group is hoping for two gender-neutral bathrooms on each floor of every building on campus.

The group has 135 people who have signed up for shifts for the rest of the week. They plan to have most stalls in Whitmore occupied, though they will leave at least the handicapped stall unoccupied in each restroom. About 30 people are needed at any given time for that to happen, according to Ann Schilling, another organizer.

“We plan on going until we get an official response,” Schilling said.

Their other demands are that the university advance on-campus health services for transgender students and hire a professor in the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department who is an expert in “the study of critical transmisogyny from an intersectional perspective.”

Demonstrator Olly Kelly said that transmisogyny is the combination of “the opression of being trans and the opression of being a woman.”

According to UMass spokesman Edward Blaguszewski, there are over 200 gender-inclusive, single-user restrooms on campus. Over the next year officials plan to add 50 more to that list.

“University officials regularly hold discussions with transgender students to discuss their concerns, and we will continue that engagement,” he said in an email.

The university last year implemented a policy that stated that “should use the bathroom facilities that correspond to their sex or gender identity, or utilize bathrooms that are designated gender-neutral or gender-inclusive.”

That policy affirms federal regulations regarding college bathrooms. Organizers said that some people have expressed annoyance with the bathroom occupation, though many people are either unfazed by it or eager to get involved. Kilian said the inconvenience of no stalls being available mirrors the inconvenience that some trans people face trying to find appropriate bathrooms.

“This is just a tiny taste of what it’s like to be a trans student,” Kilian said.

Chris Lindahl can be reached at clindahl@gazettenet.com

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