For cisgender and binary students, it's easy to choose a bathroom. For transgender people, both binary and not, bathrooms are an issue not just of labels, but of safety, comfortability, and access.

GLSEN states in their 2019 National School Climate Survey, "Most LGBTQ students (59.1%) reported personally experiencing any LGBTQ-related discriminatory policies or practices at school." Some issues disproportionately affecting transgender students include but are not limited to the following:

• 28.4% of LGBTQ+ students were prevented from using the bathroom that aligned with their gender identity

• 27.2% of LGBTQ+ students were prevented from using locker rooms aligning with their gender identity

• 45.2% of LGBTQ+ students purposely avoided gender-segregated bathrooms in school due to feeling unsafe or uncomfortable

• 43.7% of LGBTQ+ students purposely avoided gender-segregated locker rooms in school due to feeling unsafe or uncomfortable

According to GLSEN, LGBTQ+ students who experienced higher levels of victimization based on their gender expression:

• Were almost three times as likely to have missed school in the past month than those who experienced lower levels (59.0% vs. 21.8%)

• Had lower GPAs than students who were less often harassed (2.98 vs. 3.36)

• Were twice as likely to report that they did not plan to pursue any post-secondary education (e.g., college or trade school; 11.1% vs. 5.4%)

• Were more likely to have been disciplined at school (46.8% vs. 27.2%)

• Had lower self-esteem and school belonging and higher levels of depression

These saddening statistics apply to North Hunterdon High School just as much as other schools without accessible gender-neutral bathrooms. The reason why the two existing gender-neutral bathrooms in NHHS are inaccessible is due to the fact that non-binary students are coerced to choose either from the second-floor bathroom, which is filled with the intoxicating scent of people's vape clouds, or from the nurse office's bathroom, which requires students to explain themselves to the nurses.

Even if a student decides they are alright with the odor in the second-floor gender-neutral bathroom, they risk being penalized for spending excessive time outside of the classroom. The bathroom is far from many classrooms, so the student must trek across the school to find the bathroom beside Room 229. A sign outside the door states that only one student can use the bathroom, despite there being two stalls, and so they must figure out whether someone is inside or not. Considering the lack of options for gender-non-conforming students, it isn't uncommon to have to wait for someone to leave. By the time the user is finished, they've missed important class time.

With paragraphs full of issues for non-binary students who need to use the bathroom, it's time for solutions to be introduced.