Transgender students should be accommodated

By Caroline Barnhart

Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2016 | 2 a.m.

What’s on our teenagers’ minds? In its 59th year, the Las Vegas Sun Youth Forum is intended to answer just that question. The annual gathering, which this year attracted about 1,000 students, provides an opportunity for public high school juniors and seniors to discuss issues of the day in groups of 40 or so students moderated by a community leader. Each group selected one of its participants to reflect on the experience. This column, the last in a series, is written by Caroline Barnhart, a junior at Desert Oasis High School. Her group’s topic was “School Days.” Publisher and Editor Brian Greenspun is turning over his “Where I Stand” column to these young adults, who have something to say.

There are many problems in the world that plague our society. From racial discrimination to terrorist threats to global warming, the list is vast and exhaustive. The Las Vegas Sun Youth Forum serves to bring together hundreds of bright students with divergent viewpoints in hopes that together they might begin to see a solution to some of these issues. I was lucky enough to be one of these students, and luckier still to become the representative of my peers.

Of the topics we discussed, the majority of participants were incredibly passionate about two. The first asked whether transgender students should be allowed to use whichever locker room and/or bathroom they want. The consensus was, absolutely. To deny these students the right to choose is to deny their existence. It is our goal as the upcoming generation to get rid of the stigma surrounding differing gender identities. If we never implement new policies, nothing will ever improve. An alternative that was proposed was to provide gender-neutral bathrooms that would allow students of all genders to be comfortable.

The second topic was sex education and what kind is best for teenagers. Not a single student didn’t agree that teenagers need comprehensive sex education. Several studies advocated by the National Institutes of Health have shown that limited sex education, primarily abstinence-only sex education, is not only ineffective at preventing teenage pregnancy, it contributes to a higher rate of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Well-rounded education that not only teaches about straight sex, but also gay and lesbian sex, would give teenagers all the information they need to make an informed decision. Why are we withholding information from our teens if the outcome is the opposite of the desired effect?

Regardless of religion, regardless of personal beliefs, the education system has a duty to teach teenagers everything they need to know to make safe choices by hiring competent, well-trained, unbiased teachers. Teenagers are having sex, they’ve been having sex, and they’ll continue to have sex. Why shouldn’t we be making it as safe for them as possible?

Imagine a scenario in which someone has asked, “What’s the safest way to ride a bicycle?” Do you tell them that it’s to not ride one, period? No. You tell them to wear a helmet. Every student agreed, at least to some extent, that the Clark County School District curriculum is incredibly outdated, and that it should be changed to be much more complete and informative. As President John F. Kennedy once said, “The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of truth.”

To summarize, it was the consensus of the 21 students in the room that transgender teens deserve the right the choose whatever restroom and locker room they use, and that teenagers need extensive sex education to prevent teen pregnancy and STD contraction. Times are changing; new problems and questions are constantly arising that demand attention.

As the younger generation lacks the power necessary to implement the solutions we seek, it becomes the responsibility of the older generation to listen and assist. With persistence, luck and the right opportunities (such as the Sun Youth Forum), it is our hope that the world is left with one less problem.