Open letter to the Senate of the University of Paderborn
Please note that this is a translation of the original German post found here. If you speak German, consider reading the German version
Dear members of the Senate of the University of Paderborn,
I am writing this open letter to draw your attention to the situation of trans people at the University of Paderborn.
For me as a trans person, the situation is extremely difficult without a legally binding name change.
I am forcibly outed in front of my fellow students when I have to hand in homework, for example, which often has to include the name that is stored in the system. If I choose to use my name, it results in me being outed in front of tutors and lecturers, some of whom I don’t want to come out to because I’m afraid they might discriminate against me.
Also, I hold a SHK position where when I have to do corrections, the name stored in the system is shared with the students. This leads to me being outed here as well, even though I don’t want to be and I am very uncomfortable with it.
It is also impossible for me to ask questions in PANDA forums without being outed in front of my fellow students, since the name stored in the system is also displayed there.
These situations are very stressful for me and make me feel uncomfortable when I am at the university or when I have to do homework. This is a severe restriction on my quality of life, which is intrinsically unacceptable in a place like the university.
I therefore ask you to work on a solution that will allow me and other trans students to study and work at the University of Paderborn without fear of discrimination and without fear of being outed.
In my opinion, there are two ways to improve the situation:
1.) The possibility to change the name that is stored in the system without the need for a court order. This would allow me to change my name without it being preceded by a long and emotionally draining court process. According to the legal opinion of the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency, a name change according to the TSG is not necessary for this (see [1]).
2.) The possibility to change the name displayed in PANDA, PAUL and other systems without the need for a court order, but the name on degree certificates and other documents issued by the university continues to be the legally binding name.
Yours sincerely
Marlena Müller
This e-mail is an open letter published at https://marlena.app/de/post/2023-04-05-offener_brief_upb. I agree that this email may be forwarded and/or published without modification.