This is going to be a short, short story because of my homework and I figured what better to write about then my first days in class.
As I wrote about before in another “My Story”, I am in grad school to earn my Master’s in Social Work. I started taking classes in the STEP program which is a non-matriculating program that the class credits can be transferred over to the matriculating program. Anyhow, I went to register for my first class and I told them that I identified as Diana even though I haven’t transitioned, they said it would be no problem. They would just add a note to the professor. One of the two classes that I took was “New Perspectives on Gays and Lesbians Individuals”; I thought that it would be an interesting class, so I signed up for the class.
The first day of class, I walked in and found a seat and there was actually someone in class that I knew from the Stonewall Speakers. So that was a nice surprise, I didn’t feel as nervous on my first day of class in over 40 years. The teacher was writing the name of the class, when she turned around and looked at the students, she then wrote on the blackboard, “New Perspectives on Gays, Lesbians and Transgender Individuals”. She then read the class roster of students and she called my male name and I said “Here, but I go by “Diana” and she said OK. All my homework and exams I use “Diana” all through the STEP program with no problems.
When I applied to the School of Social Work to become a matriculating student, I had already transitioned. I had to submit my grades from my other colleges and they were all in my male name. One day I had a message on my answering machine when I get home, it was from admissions… “There seems to be a discrepancy your school records, could you stop by the office.” Right away, I knew what the problem was, so a grabbed a copy of my Probate Court order for my name change and drove up to the school. When I walked into her office, the admission’s director look up from her desk, didn’t ask me for my name, or why I was there, but just said, “Oh, I think I got the problem straightened out now.” I said well just to make it official, here is a copy of the Probate order.
I have to say that other then that, I have no problem with anyone at school. That I have been treated by everyone as just another student. Oh yeah, there have been an occasional slip of pronouns but nothing on purpose and I few students that had an initial apprehension with working with a trans-student but the all got over it.
At the college in which I teach, I've had no problem at all with the students--not even the religious conservatives. The same is true with the staff members such as maintainence workers. However, there are a few members of the college's faculty and administration who pretend to accept me more than they actually do. To use a cliche, they smile to my face and stab me in the back.
ReplyDeleteAbout name changes and transcripts: When I went to change my undergraduate transcript, the woman in the registrar's office told me an interesting story. I attended Rutgers University in New Brunswick. Until recently, the university included Douglass College, an all-female school. One alumna became a man. However, the college would not change the name or gender on his transcript! So, the university gave him a Rutgers College diploma. The irony is that they probably did him a favor, as RC has a bit more cache than DC has.