By Maud Weaver

Students are concerned and speaking out about Blackboard, the system George Brown College is using for online learning, which does not allow students to dictate their names or pronouns. Blackboard is limited to using students’ legal names that the college has on hand which students say is affecting their mental health.

Names and pronouns can be an important part of people’s gender and gender expression. Deadnaming, calling a trans person by the name they no longer use, is a transphobic microaggression that some students face daily, leading them to feel unmotivated, disrespected, and unsafe in class. Some students have reported negative impacts on their mental health outside of school as well.

At a recent meeting among the Student Association of George Brown College’s (SAGBC) board of directors, Robby Thompson, the Preparatory and Liberal Studies Educational Centre Representative, addressed this issue.

“I had about seven students, from my constituency, message me that they feel unsafe in class and they feel vulnerable because they cannot enter their names or their pronouns,” says Thompson. “This needs to change now.”

Thompson says he received pushback from some members of the board, but ultimately it motivated others to come together and carry out an action plan to address this critical issue.

Thompson says the SAGBC is working on an action plan with help from Community Care Coordinator Michelle Pettis. This action plan includes:

• Releasing an open letter
• Engaging in discussions with IT and Blackboard
• Meeting with Student Success and Academic Affairs
• Outreach to other colleges, such as Mohawk College, to learn how they have made the changes
• Connect with legal counsel through the SAGBC
• Create a relationship with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal so they are able to bring it up as a formal case if they feel that is needed

Thompson sees these as positive steps and is hopeful, but believes these changes should have happened already.

“Ideally I want the change to start happening yesterday. That didn’t happen and I don’t think it will by the end of the week, but I am hopeful for second semester,” says Thompson.

Thompson suggested some short-term changes that could be put into effect immediately such as having teachers create a guest link and send it to students, allowing them to enter their own names and pronouns.

Thompson wonders why this issue has not been addressed until now.

“Why am I the one that’s bringing this up and why hasn’t it been tackled in the past?” he asks. “Because it should have been ready for a virtual learning environment.”

He also says he experienced some pushback from board members following his statement and ideas for change.

“They thought that it would be overstepping if I were to do that [apply the short-term fix]. That was the specific word one of them used,” says Thompson.

Thompson disagreed, and reiterated the importance of his statement.

“I just said again ‘this isn’t overstepping. This is children’s lives at stake or adult lives at stake even, and I’m sure the board of directors does not want to deal with a student suicide, God forbid,’” says Thompson.

Overall, Thompson has felt supported since speaking up though and that has impacted the ability to positively push forward.

“As I expected, I got some pushback, and I think that was mainly due to the fact that some of my colleagues are simply unaware and it’s very new to them, but the general reaction is very good.”