EARIST admin slammed as video of trans student forced to get haircut to enroll goes viral
Calls to make schools inclusive arose as a video of a transgender student getting forced to get a haircut went viral online.
On March 13, LGBTQ+ group Bahaghari wrote about how a trans youth from Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST) was blocked from enrolling as she had long hair. The said student was then forced to have her hair cut so she'd be able to finish the enrollment process.
TIGNAN: Napilitan ang ilan sa mga estudyanteng transgender ng Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST) na magpaputol ng kanilang buhok matapos harangin ng school administration ang kanilang pag-eenroll nang dahil dito #InclusiveSchoolsNOW pic.twitter.com/QZX3qdq7Yd
— Bahaghari (@Bahaghari_PH) March 13, 2024
The EARIST campus, a state college, is located in Manila where an anti-discrimination ordinance is in place.
Ordinance No. 8695, signed by former Manila Mayor Isko Moreno in 2020, protects the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals in the city against all forms of discrimination based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (SOGIE). Violators of the ordinance will face fines or jail time.
According to the EARIST student handbook obtained from the college's website, there is a prescribed "clean and decent haircut" for male students. Another memorandum from its Students and Affairs Services office states that the said haircut must be a barber's cut that's 2 inches by 3 inches and that male students aren't allowed to sport goatees, colored nail polish, and earrings on campus.
Online backlash
On social media platforms, users have criticized EARIST for having an "outdated" and "discriminatory" policy.
Bahaghari - EARIST released a statement on March 5 condemning the administration's policy denying trans women students their enrollment.
"Education must be for ALL—regardless of a student's sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Ang pagbabawal ng school admin [ng] EARIST na i-enroll ang ilang estudyante dahil lamang trans sila ay labag sa karapatan naming mag-aral at isa itong malinaw na porma ng diskriminasyon dahil sa gaming kasarian," the org's women's representative JP Brillantes said in a statement.
ππππππππ₯π-πππ₯ππ¦π§ π¦πππ π¦ πππ₯ππ¦π§ πππ ππ‘ π’π©ππ₯ πππ‘πππ πππ ππ¦π¦ππ’π‘ π’π π§π₯ππ‘π¦πππ‘πππ₯ π¦π§π¨πππ‘π§π¦#MakeEARISTInclusive#InclusiveSchoolNowPH#Bahaghari pic.twitter.com/X3zUsFRTyq
— BAHAGHARI - EARIST (@BahaghariEARIST) March 5, 2024
Other LGBTQ+ orgs like UP Babaylan have also called on the state college to abolish its policies on haircuts.
"UP Babaylan calls on EARIST and other repressive institutions to abolish nonsensical policies on haircut and dress codes. They worsen the learning environment and make spaces unsafe for students to thrive on. Hair grows back, and it will grow like resistance," it said.
"Yung hindi mag enroll bec walang pambayad ng tuition gets pa eh. Pero yung BUHOK?! This is blatant discrimination and oppression! Walang kinalaman ang gender expression sa kakayahan mo bilang studyante so bakit? Schools are institutions to build potential. This is just plain BULLYING!" wrote Drag Race Philippines season 1 alum Eva Le Queen.
"Why do schools keep using old, repressive methods like cutting one's hair? Makakaapekto ba ito sa standing ng mga estudyante at mga eskwelahan? Or are the admins repressive just because? THEY DON'T DESERVE THIS. JUNK DISCRIMINATORY POLICIES AGAINST STUDENTS!" said one user.
In a privilege speech on March 14, Fourth District Councilor Joel "Jtv" Villanueva said he felt "ashamed" because Manila had an anti-discrimination in place yet it was still experienced at one of its state colleges.
"Nakakahiya sapagkat mayroon tayong batas na ipinaglalaban natin ang LGBT community pero sa sariling eskwelahan na tinutulungan at sinusubsidize natin, sila pa ang hindi nagpapatupad ng ordinansa pinagtibay natin," Villanueva said.
“Nakakadismaya isipin na sa kabila ng ordinansang pinasa sa konseho… ay tila di pa rin pinapansin at binibigyang halaga ng kinauukulan," he continued, adding that he gave his speech to let public schools as well as private schools and institutions that the city council would hold up the ordinance protecting LGBTQ+ individuals in Manila.
An ongoing battle
The viral video isn't the first case of forced haircuts trans students experienced as Bahaghari's Secretary-General Arri Samsico shared on X that they have been dialoging with the school administrations "multiple times" about this.
"Last year pa noong nakipag-usap kami sa university president kung saan pinayagan silang mag-enroll sa kundisyon na dapat naka-shoulder length and/or nakatali," she wrote.
Brillantes also said in a statement that trans students are only allowed to wear uniforms based on their sex assigned at birth, with some allowed to wear gender-affirming uniforms if "hindi naman halata."
Kanina, sinamahan ko ang mga estudyante ng EARIST para magpasa ng letter sa office ng president nila. Start na kasi ng classes nila at hindi pa rin nakaka-enroll ang mga students na trans, gawa ng sinasabihan silang magpagupit muna bago sila tanggapin sa mga klase. pic.twitter.com/6V9OGFzCPY
— Arri Samsico #MakeEARISTInclusive (@arrisamsico) October 9, 2023
Samsico added that they have raised the issue to the Manila Public Information Office and its Gender and Development Office as well as to current Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna.
PhilSTAR L!fe has reached out to EARIST for comment but has yet to receive a response.
