DeKALB | Sophomore sociology major Riss Carter does not identify with any pronouns. Instead, Carter goes by “Riss.”

“I’m not a he,” Carter said. “I’m not a she. I’m not a they. I’m Riss.”

Pronouns became a concern at NIU about two years ago since transgender ally training has been made available, said Molly Holmes, director of the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center. In the trainings, self-identification and pronouns are core topics.

There is no official policy at NIU for faculty, staff or students to ask for pronouns.

Pronouns are defined under gender expression, according to Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation’s wesbite. Transgender people use pronouns to reflect their gender identity, the sense of one’s gender, rather than have them reflect the gender they were assigned at birth.

“It means that I am my own person,” Carter said. “I’m me. I’ve tried so hard to figure out who I am and be comfortable with who I am and what I want to be called, and it’s hard especially with my pronouns.”

There is a guide on the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center website that can be utilized to better understand pronouns and gender identity. The guide lays out ways students and faculty can become more familiar with transgender issues. It gives examples of how faculty can approach making their classrooms and services more transgender friendly by giving students a voice in self-identification.

Anne Petty Johnson, faculty advisor for PRISM, NIU’s student-run LGBTQ organization, and director of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences External Programming, said she began implementing pronoun guides in her classrooms about two years ago.

“I didn’t realize how much I was devaluing our students,” Petty Johnson said. “The rosters that we get have student’s legal names, but yet if their name doesn’t match the way they present themselves gender-wise, it could unintentionally out them, and that’s not my place.”

Petty Johnson began introducing herself with her pronouns and then asked her students to introduce themselves and share their own pronouns, allowing for self-identification.

Holmes said to not assume pronouns is the best policy. Holmes said when people take initiative to get educated on transgender issues, they do it because they want to and because they know it is right.

Gabriel Sonntag, sophomore women’s and gender studies major, said a policy would bring better awareness to issues regarding gender and pronoun identification.

“I think sometimes policies are the only way certain people are going to do things,” Sonntag said. “Policy will help people first get used to the idea and help them realize how important it really is to use correct pronouns.”

Carter said the easiest way for someone to get educated on gender and pronoun usage is to simply ask someone if they aren’t sure.

“A lot of people are really scared to start the pronoun talk,” Carter said. “Don’t be afraid to ask people what their pronouns are, and don’t be afraid to get educated.”

When looking into colleges, Carter researched information about transgender friendly communities. Carter said NIU seemed to be the most transgender friendly university that was not a private institution.

However, Carter and Sonntag both said NIU is falling short on certain transgender issues.

Sonntag said barriers for transgender students can arise in housing and with NIU OneCards which use legal names rather than preferred names.

“You can get mail delivered as your preferred name and sign it off as your preferred name,” Sonntag said. “But if you show them your OneCard with your legal name…it’s like it’s not the same person.”

Carter said the low number of gender-neutral bathrooms on the NIU campus can cause issues for transgender students.

“[NIU is] trying, but we’re not there yet,” Carter said.

Carter and Sonntag said the inclusion of ally training, the LGBTQA dorm floor in New Hall Residence Hall West and groups like PRISM and Transitions make the campus feel like a safe place.