University of Georgia | Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center

Transgender Resources

Housing

The Director of the LGBT Resource Center works directly with the Department of University Housing to review all requests for accommodations. Students desiring to make a request for accommodations or who are open to
having a transgender roommate should contact the Director of the LGBT Resource Center at lgbt@uga.edu or 706.542.4077.

Students should follow the guidelines established for registering for housing and/or participating in Returning Resident Room Sign-Up as advertised by University Housing.

For more detailed information about the assignments process for new, incoming students.

Current students should click here for information about the Room Sign-Up process.

Health & Wellness

The University of Georgia Health Center advances the health of students, spouses and domestic partners by providing: primary health care, prevention focused services, and learning experiences which develop health knowledge and skills. As it is committed to meeting the needs of the University’s transgender community, there are services that students should be aware of at the Health Center.

Clinicians

The Health Center supports students in the coordination of their total health care needs. Clinicians are available to provide resources for on-campus and off-campus care including medical care, counseling and psychotherapy, hormonal therapy, health education, and other local specialists. You can make an appointment online with your Primary Care Provider (PCP) at Medical Services or by calling 706-542-1162 or 706-542-8666.

Hormonal Therapy

The Health Center can administer prescribed hormones in several ways. Clinicians can administer hormonal therapies ordered through the Health Center’s pharmacy or brought by students from their coordinating physician/pharmacy.

Gynecological Exams

Gynecological exams are an important part of your total health care. To ensure a safe and comfortable exam, the Health Center offers these exams both in the Women’s Clinic and in other Primary Care Clinics as needed. Individuals who identify as FTM who prefer not to be seen in the Women’s Clinic may set up an appointment for the exam in a different clinic after consultation with their own PCP.

Counseling

Counseling and Psychiatric Services in the University Health Center provides short-term counseling and psychiatric services for students. Students and their eligible partners can set up an appointment through the following steps. First, you must call 706-542-2273 to for a telephone screening. A therapist will conduct the screening and find the best resources for you. If CAPS services are appropriate, scheduling ongoing counseling will be based on consideration of your needs, current demand for services, and counselor availability. CAPS works with agencies and therapists on campus or in the community and may provide you with a list of referral resources based on your needs.

Crisis services are also available for emergencies. During regular hours, you may contact CAPS at 706-542-2273 and speak with the walk-in clinician or come to CAPS for a walk-in appointment. For after-hours emergencies, the emergency on-call clinician may be reached by calling the UGA Police at 706-542-2200.

Services are confidential and are offered at a reduced cost for students who have paid the student health fee. There is no additional charge for the telephone screening, initial consultation, or walk-in appointment. There are costs associated with additional individual counseling, psychiatric services, and for other services such as group counseling and psychological testing. A limited amount of grant money is available to access fees for counseling and psychiatric services through a fund established by the Parents & Families Association.

Counseling and Psychiatric Services.

Health Education

The Health Promotion Department provides a wide range of resources from education on nutrition and sexual health to anonymous HIV counseling and testing. For one-on-one educational counseling with the Sexual Health Coordinator, contact Katy Janousek at 706-542-8690. To schedule a rapid (less than one hour) anonymous HIV test call 706-542-8690. Follow this link to learn more about services offered by The Health Promotion Department.

Official Name Changes

The Office of the Registrar works with students to make official name changes
and sex designation changes for students.

Contact the Registrar, Rebecca Macon at 706.542.6902 to set up a time to discuss your individual needs

Gender Neutral Restrooms

The LGBT Resource Center is currently working on a map of all the gender neutral and single stall restrooms on campus. Once this process is complete, the map and additional information will be made available on this website. To find a gender neutral restroom on campus or in the Athens community, visit www.safe2pee.org.

If you are visiting the LGBT Resource Center, there are two gender neutral/single stall restrooms located on the second floor of Memorial Hall.

Why have a gender neutral bathroom?
Bathrooms are places of heightened gender policing. Anyone who is not obviously feminine is suspect in the women's room; anyone who is not obviously masculine is suspect in the men's room. Few other public spaces are as gendered as restrooms. The replacement of gendered bathrooms with gender-neutral bathrooms would curb most bathroom violence against gender variant people because few bathroom users would ever question the “correctness” of another's gender. Gender neutral bathrooms would also end the inequity of women's rooms – both that there are typically longer lines, and that there are often fewer women's rooms in some universities and other places that have historically and architecturally been for men only. Furthermore, caregivers of children and disabled adults would encounter fewer issues of having to use the “wrong” bathroom to accompany either their children, parent, spouse, partner, etc., who needs assistance in the restroom.

Isn't it unsafe to have men and women using the same bathroom?
It is no more unsafe to have men and women in the same bathroom than it is for gender non-conforming people to be faced with the either/or dichotomy of gendered spaces. While people often believe that sex-segregated spaces create an atmosphere of safety, a female sign on the bathroom door does not guarantee safety from an attacker. In fact, a space that is gender neutral may be a less appealing area for a would-be attacker to frequent.

Aren't bathrooms insignificant?
On the contrary, public bathrooms are symbolic of many struggles for equality and fairness. There was a time that only wealthy people could afford bathrooms in their homes and poor people were forced to use insufficient, non-hygienic public toilets. For far too long, public bathrooms here in the United States were segregated between “white” and “colored” facilities. Women working in the construction trades struggled in the 1970's to create women's bathrooms on job sites where before there had been only men's rooms. After decades of struggle, people with disabilities succeeded in passing the Americans with Disabilities Act in the 1980s, part of which included guidelines for the creation of accessible public bathrooms. Despite the evolution of public bathroom facilities, they still remain unsafe and unwelcoming spaces for some. Please join us in our effort to destroy this barrier and make our UGA campus an affirming and progressive place.

The above information is adapted from Gender Neutral Bathroom Project, Standing Committee for LGBT Awareness of the American College Personnel Association.

Trans Links

Transgender Law and Policy Institute

The Gender Advocacy Website

Human Rights Campaign

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

Intersex Society of North American