Editorial: Hello my name is...

We all remember the first day of class in middle school when the teacher would take roll, calling out names. We snickered when we learned T.J. stood for Thurston James and the math teacher pronounced "Karel" as "Carol."

But for some, taking roll can create more challenges than being called Jonathon rather than Jon. For transgender students at the University of Montana, it can mean being stuck in an old identity and having to repeatedly explain the new one to each set of professors and classmates. The transition to life at the University is tough enough as is.

The Kaimin supports University efforts to adapt its software so any student can choose a preferred name and perhaps someday a preferred gender. The changes would let students focus on academics in the classroom without the discomfort of coming out to strangers again and again and again.

The free fix is a relatively simple matter of tweaking some coding and testing, but means much more than convenience to students like Tristyn Keller. And it's cheaper than the $160 court fee he paid to legally change his name this summer so he could write his new name on tests.

The simplest and most persistent element of our identities are our names. College is about developing the skills and ethics to succeed in our lives, to define it with our actions, so it would make sense for the University to accept our identities as we do ourselves.

It is hard to see a downside to this policy, should it go into effect; at worst, some students may attempt to play a practical joke by making his preferred name something unsavory or crude. But such a childish prank, if it happened at all, would be a small price to pay for students like Keller not having to go through the awkward motions semester after semester.

Our campus is a community, and we should make efforts so that members of that community feel comfortable here. We appreciate moves like ASUM's resolution asking the University to look into the issue. And it seems like something University officials want to see happen as well. While we are not sure why the issue had not been addressed yet, it is good to see the school moving in the right direction now.