Seattle University School of Law Approves Non-Binary, Gender Non-Conforming and Allies Student Association

Seattle University School of Law, located in - no surprise - Seattle, WA, has officially approved a new student association: The Non-Binary, Gender Non-Conforming and Allies Student Association (NGNCA).

Started and run by law students, the NGNCA is an advocacy-focused student group that provides active support for non-binary and gender non-conforming law students. It also creates and distributes informational materials for allies, administrators, and professors about creating academic spaces which are safe for non-binary students, and which are welcoming so that gender-diverse students can fully embrace the law school experience without fear of being singled-out or discriminated against.

The NGNCA issued a statement following its official approval on November 5th 2020, saying: “Non-binary and gender non-conforming persons have unique needs within our academic and legal communities. As professionals, we seek to address these needs while exploring how the complexities of gender, presentation, law and society intersect through networking opportunities, panels, discussions, social events, research and resource creation.”

The NGNCA is headed by two non-binary law students, one who is agender and one who is genderfluid; both use they/them/theirs pronouns. The other members of the core committee are cis-gendered allies. The club currently has 23 members who represent a mix of genders. Starting in January, the NGNCA will be appointing three additional officers who will focus on intersectional oppression within the non-binary community, the disabled non-binary community, and the educational/resource needs of allies.

Seattle University School of Law

Even though there is already a well-established LGBTQIA+ law student association at Seattle University known as “Outlaws,” the NGNCA says there is a need for a louder and more-focused effort to work with the administration and allies to ensure non-binary needs are being met within the academic environment. Having a non-binary and gender non-conforming association means that these students, who are a minority even within the LGBTQIA+ community, won’t be overlooked. With this in mind, the NGNCA will prioritize working with the administration to update systems to be non-binary friendly so that students don’t get misgendered or deadnamed. And, NGNCA will continue the work of now-graduated students who had campaigned for an easily accessible gender neutral bathroom within the law school.

Congratulations to the NGNCA, and we look forward to hearing more about the work you do. Here’s hoping this sets an example for the schools around the U.S.!