(The Center Square) – Touting the privacy of a locker room for both sexes, the University of California Davis announced “universal locker rooms” welcome to “all gender identities” are coming to the school’s rec center, only changing wording related to gender and diversity after backlash.
“Universal locker rooms [are] coming this fall” to the UC Davis Activities and Recreation Center, the school revealed in early February, according to an internet archive.
Now, the revised announcement merely reads that “new locker rooms” are coming to the Activities and Recreation Center (ARC) in the fall. However, the locker room is still for both sexes.
“All Campus Recreation members can use our universal locker rooms, regardless of who they are or how they identify,” the original announcement read. “These spaces are inclusive of members with disabilities and members of all gender identities.”
“We value inclusive, accessible environments that accommodate the diverse needs of our community,” the original announcement said.
“This renovation will transform the locker room facilities into a space that offers more privacy for all members,” the original announcement said.
The current announcement still advertises “more privacy for all members,” and states “all Campus Recreation members” can use the locker rooms, but says nothing of diversity, inclusivity, or gender identities.
When reached for comment, UC Davis director of news and media relations James Nash told The Center Square that “the locker room area of the Activities and Recreation Center is being updated in response to student feedback and to provide greater personal privacy for campus recreation members.”
“In the redesign, common space is for use by all members, and the changing areas, showers and restrooms are fully private,” Nash said. “These spaces have floor-to-ceiling walls and doors.”
“The construction and maintenance of the Activities and Recreation Center, opened in 2004, is largely funded by a fee approved by students in 1999,” Nash said.
“We are committed to creating a welcoming environment for our campus community,” Nash told The Center Square.
On March 4, UC Davis professor and Moms for Liberty Yolo County chapter chair Beth Bourne made several posts on X expressing her disgust toward the school’s universal locker room decision.
By March 6 at least, the new locker rooms webpage had been updated to its current wording, as observed on internet archives.
Beth Bourne posted on X that “it’s too bad women’s rights to safety, privacy and dignity were never a consideration by the @ucdavis design team.”
Another X user named Elizabeth Barcohana posted, “Hey California Dads, did you vote for this?”
Although there are two gender inclusive toilets in the new UC Davis locker room, there is also a designated men’s and a designated women’s toilet, according to a floor plan.
From the floor plan, the shower and changing area appears to be made up of single stalls.
The locker rooms are a remodel of the previous sex-segregated ARC locker rooms, according to the school’s announcement, and will cost $5.97 million, according to the project’s webpage.
According to one of Bourne’s posts on X, there appear to be some UC Davis female students upset about the locker room change, with one student saying “when a society cannot acknowledge real sex based differences it is unequivocally women who are forced to become second class citizens,” and another arguing that the previous sex-segregated locker rooms are “private enough.”
Another X user named Jennifer posted of the situation at UC Davis “Why even have a locker room? Just put the lockers in the middle of the quad. If everyone is changing in front of everyone what’s the point?”
ARC offers a fitness center, an indoor track, and a gym among other amenities, according to its website.
