UNC Asheville’s transgender students say new housing policy has made them feel unsafe and unheard after being told the university reassigned them to live with people who do not share their gender identity.
“My whole identity was being disrespected,” said Ariel Grafton, a senior student at UNCA. “Why does my comfort have to come second to some policy?”
UNC Asheville transgender students were notified in June that they would be reassigned to different housing and had to take immediate action. When sophomore and trans woman, Jen Barvir, opened her email, she said she was met with a brief and discomforting message from the university.
“We are reaching out to you today with an update about Housing and Residence Life policy and procedures that will require a change in your housing assignment,” read an email from the university Housing and Resident Life office. Barvir was told to schedule an appointment between June 11 and 19 or face reassignment without her input.
For Barvir, the message lacked clear instruction or explanation as to what she would be meeting about.
“It never specifically stated what I needed or what exactly was being discussed,” Barvir said. “I asked my suitemates in a group chat if any of them had gotten the email, and they hadn’t. So I was very confused.”
After learning it was about being reassigned into unaffirming housing due to policy changes, Barvir said she was eventually placed in affirming housing after navigating a maze of offices.
“I had to call housing and ask them (about affirming housing) and got led into a rabbit hole,” Barvir said.
After multiple calls she was eventually led to the university’s Career Center where she finally was able to learn about the steps needed to live in affirming housing.
“It was a lot of jumping through hoops for things I’ve already done,” Barvir said. “Last year I also roomed with women, the process was a lot simpler.”
Barvir said the housing policy change initially made the idea of living on campus feel unsafe and humiliating.
“When I thought there was a heavy possibility that I would live with men, it made me feel very unsafe. It also made me feel humiliated just because I did this before, I lived with other women last year and there weren’t any problems,” Barvir said. “It just felt like a gut punch of ‘why am I not allowed this year? What’s changed?’”
Ariel Grafton, a trans woman and senior at UNC Asheville, said the change was a lot more than just an inconvenience.
Grafton said she was reassigned to live in The Woods, an on-campus apartment-style residence, in non-affirming housing. Though her current suitemates have been supportive, she said that was just a matter of luck.
“The people I got moved in with have been very normal, but that was not a guarantee,” Grafton said. “I had absolutely everything to worry about, I just got lucky.”
Grafton and Barvir said the sudden policy change required them to provide additional information, not required of cisgender students, to get assigned into affirming housing. This requires trans students to provide legal or medical proof of gender transition.
“I didn’t have the money to get it changed,” Grafton said.
Brady Webb, a trans man and sophomore at UNC Asheville said they are concerned specifically for trans women in the community with this recent change.
“Trans women are facing more danger here because statistically men are more violent and aggressive, and the thought of some trans women I know having to share such a tight, enclosed space with a man for many, many months, with more than likely a stranger, sounds scarily unsafe,” Webb said.
Webb said he feels safer living with women as a trans man.
“I never really fear one of them getting violent toward me or doing something intentionally to hurt me,” Webb said.
Both Barvir and Grafton said they feel there is less support given from the school this year than in previous years. Grafton said she chose UNCA over other colleges her freshman year because she thought she would be more comfortable and accepted at the university.
“I had heard a bunch about (UNC) Asheville being sort of a safe haven for queer and trans people,” Grafton said. “Back when I came here for the first time, they had a huge pride banner along with a BLM and Cherokee banner in front of the library. All of that promoted activism was a huge factor into why I came here and why a lot of other students came here.”
Grafton said she’s frightened that the school seems to be quickly moving away from the things that brought her here in the first place.
“Its just more diluted now,” Grafton said. “Its hard to not feel dysphoric when the system sees you one way and refuses to see you the other unless you pay to have it changed.
According to Webb, there were changes made to the housing portal that directly affect trans students and their ability to apply to affirming housing.
“Things have changed about the housing portal within the past year. You can no longer change your gender marker unless you give additional information,” Webb said. “It used to be that you could just change it. You could just put your mouse over it, click it and change it.”
Trans students Barvir and Grafton said the school could have given more clear instruction on how to get assigned into affirming housing without having to seek it out for themselves through navigating multiple different offices.
“I think the school could have handled this better,” Grafton said. “I think it’s ridiculous that policy matters more than student safety and comfort.”
