OPINION: First steps aren’t enough to stop deadnaming

Changing a name that everybody sees shouldn't be so hard

Editorial Board logo | Argonaut
Editorial Board logo | Argonaut

Blackboard Learn, or BbLearn, comes with a plethora of technical issues and annoying bugs, but one issue goes past simple irritation. University of Idaho students cannot change their names on the site.

Deadnaming, using the birth or other former name of a transgender or non-binary person, is an issue the LGBTQA+ community deals with frequently. While UI has made it relatively easy to change first names on Vandal cards, not being able to change names on BbLearn can be harmful, especially because that’s where other people will see it. According to the (BbLearn) Blackboard help website, personal settings can be changed to show a desired name. The catch is UI has the ability to not allow these changes.

“Your institution may not allow you to change your personal information, password or settings through Blackboard Learn,” the help site stated. “Blackboard Learn often shares data with other systems on campus, such as the Registrar’s Office. Your institution may need to ensure that your information is the same everywhere. In this case, your institution will have a different way to change your information.”

Changing names can be a complicated process. According to UI’s BbLearn help website, in order for UI employees to change their full or last name, their employment records must be changed through Human Resources. It gets a little more complicated for students, who may have different official names for different sectors of the university.

If a student is registered in any classes for the current term, BbLearn will display their official, full “student name.” The only way to change this is to submit a “change of name” form through the Registrar’s Office. Completing the name change would require legal documentation of the change, but that is the most difficult part.

According to the Idaho Court Assistance Office, a legal name change involves filling out several forms, paying a fee of $166 and additional fees for obtaining a certified copy of the judgment, attending a hearing where the person must explain why they want the change and publishing the change in a local newspaper.

Going through the process of changing a “student name” is an incredibly lengthy procedure, nearly as frustrating as being deadnamed, and it shouldn’t be.

Students are able to visit the Vandal Card Office and easily change how first names appear on the card, which affects university email addresses as well, Student Technical Supervisor Brandon Crous said. It is a step in the right direction, however, students don’t use Va nd a l ca rd s as a form of identification. They are used for accessing buildings, buying food and can be used occasionally at the VandalStore.

Students should be able to change their names just as easily on BbLearn, especially since this is a platform many faculty and fellow students can interact with LGBTQA students whose deadnames may appear every time they attempt to participate in conversation or submit an assignment. Professors see students’ names on BbLearn, not on Vandal cards.

Since instructors interact with so many individuals through BbLearn and may not remember each student’s preferred name, instructors can use repetitive deadnaming, a deeply hurtful feeling for LGBTQA students.

The BbLearn software offers the option for students to change their names. If the problem is technical issues and legal names, there are other options, like Edmodo and Canvas, which also allow students to change their names.

Although other software is available to use that presently give students the option to change their names, we must be thinking about the wellbeing of students and faculty. Many at the university use Bblearn in their academic career, for educational purposes and identifying peers in courses.

-Editorial Board

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