Nicholas Christos ’20:  Thousands of people, supporters and protestors alike, will be flooding Washington D.C. this January 20th for President-Elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. After his defeat of opponent Hillary Clinton in November, political analysts have jumped on the opportunity to evaluate whether he will hold up to the promises he made as a candidate. These promises included appointing conservative Supreme Court justices who may look to overturn Obama’s transgender bathroom order and Roe v. Wade. Discussion over both transgender bathroom use and abortion has grown in recent years.
Transgender friendly bathrooms and gender neutral bathrooms in schools were brought to the public’s attention when Gavin Grimm, a Virginia teen who was born female but identifies as male, sued his school district in the eventual Supreme Court case Gloucester County School Board v. G.G. because he was not allowed to use the boys’ restroom. Last January, a letter was issued by Obama’s Administration Department of Education which required local schools to “treat transgender students consistent with their gender identity,” meaning that locker room and restroom access be based on gender identity rather than biological sex.
As it stands, it is hard to tell if Trump will pursue an appeal on this order. In past incidents Trump and running mate Mike Pence’s views on transgender friendly bathrooms have been explained. Vice President-Elect Pence shared with The Christian Post, that “both he and the Republican presidential candidate believe that the transgender bathroom issue can be resolved with common sense at the local level. Washington has no business intruding on the operation of our local schools.” However, last April, Trump criticized a North Carolina law that banned transgender people from using the bathroom they wished as he said, “ [The state] should leave it the way it is.”
At Episcopal, the possibility of gender neutral bathrooms has been both accepted and criticized. Theresa Lemke ‘17, an officer on Diversity Awareness Club said, “I think it would be cool. Episcopal has other things to work on and push; gender friendly bathrooms would not be possible without other things being addressed in the EA community. But I think it is a cool idea.”
Another Upper School student, who wished to remain anonymous, stated, “I do not think Episcopal is ready for transgender friendly bathrooms because not enough of the population is transgender and it would make a lot of people uncomfortable.”
Head of Upper School Delvin Dinkins says, “I know that as an administrative staff we have begun the discussion about having supportive practices for all students, which would include transgender students. Many schools will be faced with those policy and practical questions but ultimately at the end of the day our job is to provide a non discriminatory environment for everyone. I would imagine we would support.”
Class of 2018 Form Dean Holly Johnston agreed, saying, “All students should be able to use bathrooms. I recognize there may be students that feel uncomfortable either way. If we could have a neutral, single bathroom, like the faculty bathroom; that may work. It could be used for transgender students and students that are not quite comfortable yet with having other people in there [the bathrooms].”
Among the other social issues in question that can directly impact teens is that of abortion. In the 1973 landmark case Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to ban abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy, though it would be left up to states to determine second and third trimester regulation. Though his abortion stance has at times been unclear, in the conservative’s recent post-election 60 Minutes interview, Trump said,“Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m pro-life. The judges will be pro-life. Having to do with abortion—if it ever were overturned, it would go back to the states.”
However, overturning the 43 year-old decision seems unlikely even if Trump appoints a justice who will work to do so, because there will presumably still be five votes in favor of retaining it. That being said, a Trump administration could, and most likely will, still push a pro-choice agenda without overturning Roe v. Wade by reducing abortion access and funds to Planned Parenthood.
Again, the possible policy change has drawn different reactions from the EA community, especially female students, with whom the issue particularly resonates. Cora Williams ‘18 and Jillian Rotman ‘18 say that Trump’s remarks on abortion “are scary.” Rotman says that she is “ definitely pro-choice,” but wanted to clarify that, “nobody who is pro-choice says it should be a form of birth control. It’s like a last resort, if you are unable to be a parent or for whatever reason you are not going to be able to provide for this child, or it’s not going to be welcomed into a world that it’s wanted.” She is also scared about a rise in illegal abortions, saying that, “There’s always going to be a way,” and “they are scared about what is going to happen to them so they are going to go to the black market, and that’s going to kill people. It’s safer to go to a sanitary place with doctors who know what they are doing.”
On the other hand, Katie Munyan ‘18 would support Trump’s pro-choice efforts. She explains, “I’m pro-life because every baby, before they are born, should have equal rights just as when they are born because they really aren’t that much different. Everybody who’s pro-choice is already born, so nobody really puts themselves in the situation of the baby.” When asked if she would support Roe v. Wade being overturned she said, “Yes, absolutely. The government is basically giving their consent for innocent lives to be killed everyday.”
On these issues and how they might apply to life at Episcopal, Dinkins says, “I don’t have a scope of President Elect Trump’s policies in these areas,” and assures that only “time will tell.”

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