The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI) at Kenyon College in Ohio provides a free shuttle service twice a week to take students to sex change appointments.
The two destinations to which the bus transports students are Equitas Health King-Lincoln Medical Center in Columbus and the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, according to the Kenyon Collegian. (RELATED: ‘As Many Transitions As I Could’: Cornell Funds ‘Gender Affirming Repository Of Clothing’ For Trans Students)
“While Knox Community Hospital does provide these services, issues such as long wait times and a lack of trust created barriers for LGBTQ+ students,” René Guo, assistant director of the diversity department, told the outlet. “The shuttle was seen as an intermediate solution to address these challenges, with the hope that incoming leadership at the College would identify a long-term solution for gender-affirming care on campus.”
Guo joined the office in June, announcing plans to start the shuttle as well as three “allyship workshops” for the Kenyon community, according to the outlet.
“Instead of focusing solely on traumatic narratives, ODEI aims to celebrate queer resilience, joy and empowerment, enabling students to make positive cultural changes rather than feeling overwhelmed by negative experiences,” Guo said, per the Collegian.
A PDF sent to students as the fall semester kicked off outlined the new plan for the department in the 2023-2024 school year, including “[a]nnual assessment of staff, student, and faculty perspectives of ODEI and DEI initiatives.”
“ODEI has been steadily working toward a strong strategic plan to increase diversity, equity and inclusion across many facets of Kenyon life. Each team member brings a different perspective and background to this plan, and we are incredibly excited to see how ODEI (and Kenyon at large) changes over the next academic year,” the document reads.