Burlington – At the end of May, just before commencement, Ethan Fechter-Leggett got the graduation present he'd been working for during his entire college career. The University of Vermont's Board of Trustees voted unanimously to add "gender identity or expression" to the university's nondiscrimination policies.
     Typically, the trustees vote on a "consent agenda" at the end of their two-day meeting, a collection of the items the board will approve. In this case, however, the chairman of the trustees’ diversity committee, Tom Little, requested a separate vote, apparently to ensure the record would be absolutely clear.
     Observing the vote, said Dot Brauer, director of the University's LGBTQA Services office, "was a moving experience. I've seen so many things not change that needed to change. Sometimes when you persevere, things do change."
     The change in policy will make her job a bit easier, but busier: "I expect some folks will need and be requesting training on trans issues."
     In a celebratory email, Fechter-Leggett called the vote "monumental." Further, he wrote, "This addition comes as a conclusion to years of hard work on many levels, including activism by Free To Be students, faculty, and staff involved in the President's Commission on LGBT Equity, LGBTQA Services, and the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity."
     Later that afternoon, Fechter-Leggett, a transman active in Free to Be and in organizing the Translating Identity Conference, received his degree and the Keith Miser Award recognizing student success in campus leadership.