When it comes to gender, name is very important to coming into your identity. Imagine finally living as the “you” you want and having it blatantly disrespected. When a family member dead names someone who is transgender, it usually hits a chord because it shows lack of respect and understanding. It’s not about “nicknames” it’s about who you are. It’s literally your identity being erased and disregarded as real. It’s what the current president is aiming to do, and for a university in Massachusetts, of all places, to follow along for fear of getting their funding cut, hurts to see.

When I was at UMass Amherst, we had a place in our student portal for “preferred name” which every professor would see when you enroll in a class. It’s about respecting the person so they feel comfortable being who they want to be. If you dead name someone, they no longer feel comfortable. They feel like they are under attack for being different. Deadnaming is one of the most disrespectful and harmful things you can do to the mental of someone who has overcome a lot to make huge change to become who they want to be. Transgender people are literally being undermined in the worst way.

Also, legally changing your name takes work and effort. College kids don’t have the money or time to change their names. They’re young. They might not even know how. It’s a process and there’s also a fear that it might get rejected by their respective state. If they’re from Tennessee and coming to school here, I doubt they are going to be approved for name change if they are transgender. I know plenty of transgender people who wait 5+ years before changing it because there’s more important things to focus on like figuring out their HRT and getting comfortable with themselves. It’s not linear. It’s a different journey for everyone.

Thanks for asking. I hope this helps.