At an Associated Students of Madison Diversity Committee meeting Monday, members announced a new university policy will officially go into effect next semester allowing students to change how their name appears in different locations around campus.
Diversity Committee Secretary Madison Tully said she is working with the LGBT Campus Center, the dean of students and Office of the Registrar to work out the details of the Preferred Name Policy.
In the pilot program that will begin in August, students will be able to specify the name they would like to be identified by on class lists. The policy is geared toward groups such as international students that go by an English name and certain members of the LGBTQ community.
Tully said she and other campus leaders are working to obtain this option for additional places names are listed, such as WisCards, but this change is still in negotiations.
Also at the meeting, committee members discussed topics surrounding race and class after they watched a documentary exploring social class in America. The discussion was held partly in preparation for an upcoming workshop with the Working Class Student Union.
Members shared stories about instances in which they had seen minorities in middle and upper classes accused of being “white,” among other topics.
Diversity Committee Chair Mia Akers said it was important for the group to discuss issues of class because of the “intersectionality” with other diversity topics.
