UOW transgender students continously dead-named in class

Editor’s Note: For the purpose of this article and the protection of those involved all interviewed will remain anonymous.

University of Wollongong transgender students have noticed a pattern of dead-naming during lectures, labs, and tutorials, from their professors and tutors. Students have reached out admitting that they feel trapped when outed in front of their classes and large groups, which leaves them feeling unsafe and further affects their overall mental health.

“Some trans people don’t want to be associated with their dead name at all.”

Starting with one student’s pitch to this publication, and following further investigation on the issue, more and more students responded in the same manner. We circulated questions on a Google Form and reviewed the answers. Here’s what we found:

The majority of responders stated that the times they had been dead-named were “too many to count” and when asked which faculty they were in, the majority said Science, Medicine and Health. Different university locations were noted as well – like lectures, labs, and tutorials – with the culprits being their respective leaders – lecturers, professors, and tutors.

When asked if the affected students thought the action was intentional, the majority stated they did not, yet thought that the disrespectful action came from a lack of knowledge on the subject or a lack of training from our institution. 

“No. I think most people just aren’t aware of or are ignorant to [sic] the importance of not using deadnames or putting them on display, and habitually don’t consider columns that aren’t the first/name column. It comes across as a lack of regard for students as individuals: just a name and nothing else.”

“... demonstrators don’t actually have to go through training about dead-naming. Queer issues are hardly mentioned, and I don’t think trans issues were mentioned at all. There are also two or three roles for some classes, and not all of them will be updated to reflect a student’s chosen name.”

Finally, when asked what kind of changes the affected students wanted to see, the greater part of the answers included different roll sheets, processes in administration, communication and understanding of the subject.

“If a student has a preferred name, lecturer attendance sheets shouldn’t even have the legal name there, it’s not relevant to the class. Or have preferred name [sic] be the first column, legal name being a later column if there’s a reason to have both.”

“I’d love more training for staff, and more streamlined processes to make sure all documents are reflected.”

One student, in a one-on-one interview with The Gala, shared that they enrolled in UOW with their legal name, but decided to change it two weeks later. They noted how the administration misspelt their preferred name and despite trying their best to correct it, their email, Moodle, and SOLS were still using an incorrect version of their preferred name. “Only administrative people can change that, and students only have the power to change the display name.”

This student knew that complete freedom to change their names couldn’t be freely given to students who would likely change their names for the fun of it, but stated that “some power should have been given for these situations.” They mentioned this especially for people who have names that are harder to spell and students who change their names to better suit English speakers. 

Further, this student described their worst experience being dead-named in a sociology class where they were a victim of transphobia. “It was a big fuck-off whiteboard and they just had my legal name displayed in front of everyone.” As a result, they were then uncomfortably stared down by another student. 

They further claimed that “the teacher knew I was queer and trans … and what’s worse is that there were several weeks dedicated to queer and trans experiences for that sociology class.”

When asked about the constant dead-naming issue, the UOW media team and the Safe and Respectful Communities (SARC) team presented a combined statement in response.

Statement from UOW Vice-President (Operations) Mr Stephen Phillips

“The University of Wollongong is committed to a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for all students, including trans and gender-diverse students, and we expect staff and students to treat one another with care and dignity. No student should have to worry about being identified in a way that causes harm, and we are committed to helping students use the processes and supports available to them.

 “UOW’s Gender Identity and Affirmation Guidelines make clear that a transgender, gender diverse or gender non-binary student may change their preferred first name at any time during enrolment and may inform their lecturer or tutor of their pronouns at any time. The Guidelines also state that where a student changes their legal name, University records can be updated to reflect that change.”

Where to go for help

The University of Wollongong takes concerns about dead-naming and misgendering seriously and encourages any student experiencing this to seek support so the issue can be addressed.

 We recognise that not all students will know how to update their preferred name or where to go for support, particularly when they first arrive at university. UOW has a range of support and inclusion resources for LGBTIQ+ students, including the Pride Network and the Allsorts Queer Collective (www.uow.edu.au/about/our-people/diversity-inclusion/gender-sex-sexuality-and-gender-diversity-lgbtiq), alongside existing University policies and support services.Information is available on AskUOW on how to update personal details and what happens after a preferred name is updated in SOLS. Students can also access support through Safe and Respectful Communities (SARC) or Student Wellbeing. Student can find details about the support services available to them at UOW via www.uow.edu.au/student/support-services.

Immediate wellbeing support is available at any time through the 24-hour UOW Student Wellbeing Support Line:

Call: 1300 036 149
Text: 0488 884 164

Where concerns relate to staff behaviour, the University has clear expectations and processes in place to address those matters appropriately. UOW continues to promote awareness and inclusion through staff guidance, training and broader gender-diversity support initiatives.

Statement from Student Advocacy Officer, Kit West, of the Division of Student Services

The Student Advocacy Service has worked with both staff and students to support safer learning environments for students navigating gender identity at UOW. This work has included:

• Supporting students in classroom settings through guest presentations on LGBTQ topics, including gender and sexual identity.
• Providing information and advice to academic staff about gender identity in professional and learning environments.
• Offering advocacy support to students experiencing challenges related to deadnaming.
• Participating in projects to update UOW systems to better recognise and prioritise students’ preferred names.
• Liaising with graduation staff to ensure preferred names could be used in ceremonial settings, reducing the risk of deadnaming at graduation.

This work is often informed by direct feedback from students about their experiences at UOW. The Student Advocacy Service also brings lived experience to this work, which informs how support is provided to students navigating these challenges.