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However, she adds, it “becomes complicated when students request name changes to official documents without legal documentation that’s a bigger issue.” Lo Faso, whose portfolios include equity and diversity, told the Star in an email Tuesday that the board is working with its “legal team” and Ontario’s Ministry of Education “to determine what we can do … and to update our procedures and practices.” It could also forcefully out me as transgender to classmates and teachers and put me at risk for harassment, bullying, or worse (and it has).”īoard superintendent Rosemary Lo Faso said similar requests have been received in the past “and we have accommodated them by utilizing the students’ preferred names and gender pronouns.” Damien Crowe, a transgender man, pictured outside the Windsor Essex Catholic Education Centre on Tuesday, March 30, 2021, has petitioned the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board, asking that he be allowed to graduate with his chosen name on his diploma.
The petition reads in part: “The way things work currently is affecting my mental health and my social interactions in school. To try and make it a smoother process in the future, he plans to address Windsor-Essex Catholic School Board trustees at their April 27 meeting. He’s pursuing a legal name change but said the process is slow and, for him, expensive.Ĭonfident and well-spoken, Crowe, 16, doesn’t think he’ll have difficulty getting his chosen name on his graduation papers, but he’s particularly concerned for other transgender students coming after him. Damien? It just fit - I felt it in my heart,” Crowe said of his transgender non-binary name. “It’s a human right, to have our chosen names respected. Damien Crowe, a transgender man, pictured outside the Windsor Essex Catholic Education Centre on Tuesday, March 30, 2021, has petitioned the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board, asking that he be allowed to graduate with his chosen name on his diploma. Crowe said his teachers have been very supportive but he has been targeted by others and even had to delete his social media accounts at one point.
Ignoring a birth or legal name over a chosen name is known as “deadnaming” in the trans community and can be used to target and bully individuals.