The Shaler Area School Board is mishandling the issue of caps and gowns for graduation.

The Board is considering changing the traditional blue or white graduation gowns to a single dual blue and white gown because it feels that the traditional colors have a gendered connotation: blue gowns being associated with boys and white gowns associated with girls. Some of the board feels that the traditional cap and gown colors alienate transgender and non-binary students and are harmful to their identity.

Yet, in considering the change, the school board is singling out the very students they feel are being singled out by the caps and gowns.

The issue of changing gowns has become associated with the transgender community and both sides have weaponized these students. Not an idea, but students. Living, breathing students who have enough problems without their gender identity being used as a weapon.

Some of those opposed to the change have taken to attacking the transgender community over the issue.  These attacks are wrong and unjustified.  Just because someone may disagree with an issue or opinion does not give them the right to attack that person’s identity.

That extends to all on both sides of this issue.  Don’t attack the people you disagree with, listen to them, question them and even argue with them. There is no reason for any person to be disparaged over any opinion.

The side for changing the gowns is culpable of weaponizing the transgender community.  In a response to a letter from the senior class officers, Suzanna Donahue, a member of the school board, accused the members of the senior class student government of opposing inclusion just because they are opposed to changing caps and gowns.

Being opposed to changing caps and gowns does not equate to opposing inclusivity.  A person can support the rights of transgender students in the community without supporting changing the colors of caps and gowns at graduation.  The two are not the same issue.

The district should allow students to choose which color cap and gown they wish to wear.  In fact, it already does.  Every student gets to choose a blue or white cap and gown when placing the order.

School board candidate Bryan Whitaker suggested that instead of changing all caps and gowns to the dual color, red should be added as a third color option for transgender and non-binary students. Yet, Whitaker ignored the very issue at hand with his suggestion. The issue is whether or not traditional caps and gowns alienate transgender and non-binary students, which having them wear red would almost certainly do.

The whole issue of caps and gown colors is a distraction from the real issue of whether or not transgender and non-binary students feel accepted as members of the school community.  The issue of caps and gowns can be rendered moot if the school board simply allows a Google Form to be posted to the grade level Google classrooms where students vote on the issue, instead of the board trying to force their views on the student body.

The real issue is how do we, the members of Shaler Area community, handle transgender and non-binary students on a day to day basis.  We’ve been focusing so much on the last day of senior year that we’ve forgotten about the other 179 days of senior year.  How do we help those students through those 179 days?  How do we help them through the 720 days of high school?

The answer is by taking those 720 days to educate students on how to be accepting of students who are different from them.  We have to show students that there is no reason to bully someone because that person is transgender or non-binary. The school board should identify ways that the school district can be more accepting of LGBTQ+ students.

So, Shaler Area school directors, focus on the more pressing issue of providing a network of support for transgender students. By doing so, the students on graduation day will have the confidence and comfort to walk in graduation wearing the gown that they want to, saying “this is me.”