We, the students and faculty of Moore College of Art & Design, petition the School to remove transgender students’ “deadnames” from the school’s Moodle terminal.

For transgender students acclimating to the new online learning system, it can be emotionally distressing to repeatedly see their “deadnames”—the names they were known as pre-transition. Because Moodle’s “display name” does not reflect the name that transgender students use, they are often referred to improperly; this is only amplified by discussion boards and conversations with peers, as not everyone remembers the names given in students’ intros. Being ‘deadnamed’ and misgendered by both students and faculty can cause mild discomfort at best and outright torment at worst. If the School allowed students, or even qualified Faculty, to change these students’ display names to reflect their identity, this issue can be easily avoided.

In order to reflect Moore’s commitment to inclusion and diversity, I request that the School allow transgender individuals to change their display names to reflect their identity within online terminals.