The BeYou Initiative has given transgender and gender non-conforming students at Stellenbosch University (SU) the opportunity to change their titles on their student cards and in the university system to accurately represent their gender identities.
The initiative facilitated the change of 85 titles to Mx in 2020, according to Dr Ronel Retief, the registrar of SU. A further 20 legitimate applications have been received since the inception of the Student Representative Council’s (SRC) BeYou Initiative.
“This initiative is a victory for me personally in affirming my identity and cementing the idea of black non-binary people deserving the rights to affirm their identity,” said Chulumanco Nopote, the chairperson of student society, QueerUS.
BeYou plans to continue collecting new applications for title changes every term, according to Viwe Kobokana, the transformation officer of the SRC.
A sign in the Neelsie indicates where students can acquire student cards. PHOTO: Giuseppe Rajkumar Guerandi
Students in need of this service applied by completing an online application form. Members of the registrar’s division cooperated with this process, but a number of students abused the service by applying under fake names and titles, according to Kobokana. This stalled the progress of the service. “It was a clap back at people mocking the initiative…it ticked me off,” said Kobokana.
Kobokana began developing the initiative in late 2020 after numerous interactions with members of the trans and non-binary community. The knowledge that a student’s journey of self-discovery could be undermined by their student card motivated her to act, said Kobokana. “I went to Safe Space by QueerUS and realised how many people aren’t officially represented.” Safe Space is a recurrent meeting for members of the queer community organised by QueerUS, according to Nopote.
A student sits in front of administrators waiting for their student card to be processed. PHOTO: Giuseppe Rajkumar Guerandi
The process of creating BeYou involved consultations with the QueerUS society at SU and SPECTRUM! society on Tygerberg Campus. “QueerUS was involved in the BeYou Initiative right from its conception,” said Nopote.
A student collects their official student card. PHOTO: Giuseppe Rajkumar Guerandi
The significance of the initiative is both personal and campus-wide, and it reflects the values of the Anti-Gender Based Violence (Anti-GBV) Movement in particular, according to Xola Njengele, Chairperson of the SRC. “It codes, to an extent, the values of it [Anti-GBV] and how they want to ensure that all bodies are seen.”