Student Senate was presented with a new resolution last week that pushes for more gender-neutral restrooms on Grand Valley State University’s campus.

The resolution requires there to be one gender-neutral bathroom on every floor of the Kirkhof Center—the most populated building on campus—and at least one in every academic building on campus.

As of now, there is at least one gender-neutral bathroom in Kirkhof, but it is not highly accessible.

The resolution does not mention specific logistics for the process of adding new restrooms, including cost and reconstruction of the buildings; it only advocates for what the senators have found the student body wants and needs.

“If we want to be a cohesive and inclusive university, we have to provide the same basic commodities for everyone, and right now we’re not there,” said Margie Munoz, a member of the senate’s Diversity Affairs Committee.

Before creating the resolution, Munoz conducted student surveys about the need for gender-neutral restrooms on campus. The surveys found that some transgender students at GVSU have thought about transferring to different schools because there weren’t enough accessible gender-neutral restrooms.

Munoz said she is hopeful that the passing of this resolution will push GVSU to become a more inclusive campus.

GVSU currently has a policy in place that requires all of its new buildings constructed on campus to have accessible gender-neutral bathrooms.

Other schools in the state have pursued similar policies. The University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor, Flint and Dearborn campuses are adding gender-neutral bathrooms during all renovations of old buildings and construction of new ones. Michigan State University passed a policy this fall to build more gender-neutral bathrooms on campus, and Central Michigan University is requiring all newly constructed buildings need to have accessible gender-neutral restrooms.

A few of the senators expressed concern that if the resolution was passed, it would just be given to the Executive Committee of the Senate, but would never be acted upon. President Ricardo Benavidez assured senators that the body will be committed to working with the university to make sure that the resolution makes a difference if it is passed.

Also during the meeting, senators finalized their nominations for this year’s Laker of the Year award and Student Award for Faculty Excellence (SAFE).

Laker of the Year is an honor awarded to a GVSU student, staff or community member who really embodies all the qualities that a Laker should possess. The senators nominated: Deb Rambadt, administrator for Campus Dining; Aaron Klein-Haight, director of judicial and special programs; Marlene Kowalski-Braun, assistant vice provost for Student Affairs; and Kate Stoetzner, director of International Student and Scholar Services.

The SAFE honor is given to the faculty member who does an excellent job going above and beyond just being a professor to really make an impact on the students at GVSU. This year’s nominees are: Mary deYoung, professor of sociology; Fred Antczak, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Steve Glass, professor of exercise science; and Fabio Espitia, professor in the modern languages and literatures department.

The awards will be given to the winners at the President’s Ball in February 2014.