A name is the first label people receive to begin their lives.
For their first 18 years, people can be stuck with a name — one that might not help represent who they believe they are as people.
Having the opportunity to change names can be an important stepping stone for people to embrace who they are and feel comfortable in their own skin.
The name change process at the University of Idaho has been more troublesome than it should be, for far too many years.
Any UI student may want the option to change names and embrace their true selves, and the university’s current process shouldn’t be such a hurdle to jump.
In order for a UI student to change their name, they first need to legally change it through the state.
It costs $99.95 for an Idahoan to change their name. In Washington, a name change can cost anywhere up to $250 — a heavy price to pay for many struggling college students.
The University of Idaho requires evidence of the legal name change, whether it is a certified court order, a passport or a driver’s license from that person’s state of residency.
This becomes a slow and agonizing process for someone just wanting to feel confident with a new name.
While the university is finally trying to ease the process, it may be too little too late.
This week, UI will begin testing out the ability for students to change their names on Vandal Web and Idaho’s Blackboard service. It is a step in the right direction, but should have been done many years ago.
Students won’t even see the effects of these upcoming changes, as this will function as a test run to determine how the process plays out.
UI administration has promised to ease the process for many years, but when the discussion on the issue eventually fades, change never occurs. In order for things to finally change, both students and administration can’t forget about this issue — even if that means bombarding administrators through email, asking and reminding administration to change its policies.
Students need to continue to keep this issue on UI’s radar — the only way to make the changes UI should have made long ago. Having the opportunity to change names on Blackboard is a great first step. This allows instructors to recognize names students want to be called and help students feel more comfortable within their learning environment.
The college experience can be the most formative years of a young adult’s life with many figuring out who they are as a person and who they strive to become.
Allowing name changes through university programs is the first step toward these students being able to embrace the person they’ve always been.
It’s now on UI to show an increased initiative toward embracing its students and putting them first.
— Editorial Board