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What’s in a name? A lot.

In June, OHIO adopted a policy allowing students to choose a preferred name and gender pronoun for self-identification, following similar practices already in place at the school’s Campus Care and Counseling and Psychological Services.

Desired monikers—middle names, nicknames, etc.—pertain in all cases except when legal names must appear, for instance, admission applications, financial aid documents, enrollment and degree verification, and reports to state and federal agencies. Student ID cards include both preferred and legal names. The University reserves the right to remove inappropriate appellations or those intended to misrepresent.

“This is an important policy for many students, especially trans identified students, who have the right to be addressed by a name and pronoun that correspond to their gender identity,” said delfin bautista, director of the University’s LGBT Center, in a Compass story. The protocol follows unanimously approved “Preferred Name” resolutions from the Student and Graduate Student senates the past two years.

“The policy can also be helpful to international students who want to go by an Americanized or variation of their name as well as students changing their last name due to personal conflicts with family such as divorce or abuse,” bautista continued.

“OHIO is a pioneer in that we are one of the few schools whose policy includes pronouns,” bautista wrote in an e-mail. “Hopefully, our actions will ripple throughout Ohio and the rest of the country.”