Transgender Butler students have the option to change both their preferred and legal names recognized by Butler. Graphic by Elizabeth Hein.

MAXWELL COLLINS | STAFF REPORTER | mcollins1@butler.edu

Transgender students at Butler face a different set of struggles than their cisgender counterparts. One struggle may be that their legal name does not reflect the gender identity they present to their peers and professors. Some students may seek to have their names changed through Butler’s Registration & Records. 

To change their preferred name, students can make any updates they would like on My.Butler. After logging in, students can navigate to the self service student homepage, and then to the profile menu to access their personal details including their legal and preferred names. Here, students can also change the name listed on their degree.

Butler’s registrar Josh Hayes highlighted where information is updated. 

“Preferred or chosen names are self-selected names that appear in places like class rosters, in Canvas, and — when changed by the student — in the student center of My.Butler,” Hayes said in an email to The Butler Collegian. “Preferred [or] chosen name changes are initiated by students in My.Butler.”

If a transgender student has changed their name on their legal records, they can also make this known to Butler Registration & Records. 

In each state, there are different processes and requirements to legally change your name. Indiana requires a $157 filing fee and the individual must publicize the change in a local paper for three weeks, before even attending a court hearing. After all of this, the individual invests in a long process of changing all of their documentation, from their social security and driver’s license to all of their bills and medical records.

Polling from Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) in 2023 found that only 24% of transgender adults legally change their name due to difficult or inaccessible processes with their state, or a fear of harassment. 

Hayes explained the process after a name change occurs in My.Butler.

“Primary [or] legal names automatically flow into Butler systems like My.Butler through the admission application and automatically appear on official documents such as academic transcripts,” Hayes said. “Legal name changes are processed by completing and filing a form with Registration & Records.”

Hayes emphasized the importance of navigating the process with a full understanding of the difference between primary — or legal — name and preferred — or chosen — name. 

“Often, students are simply seeking to be recognized by their preferred name — ‘Beth’ instead of ‘Elizabeth,’ for example — with their professors,” Hayes said. “In these cases, providing a preferred name is suggested. Other times, students are seeking a name change as part of formal recognition of a substantive life change — a marriage, a divorce or a change in gender identity. In these cases, a legal name change might be appropriate.” 

Eleanor Waiss, a senior mathematics and actuarial science major, went through preferred name and legal name change at Butler during her time here. She recounts that the preferred name change process was simple, while the process of changing her legal name at Butler was convoluted and slow-moving. 

“I was here all summer, and so when I did get my legal name changed, one of the things I was looking forward to was updating my name through Butler,” Waiss said. “I had to publicize my intent to change my name for three weeks in a newspaper, [wait] another week to a month to update [my] social security card, another two to four weeks to update a passport … It’s just a domino effect of things that have to happen in the specific order.” 

Aside from issues with the extended timeline of this legal processes, Waiss also ran into miscommunication with what documentation was needed to validate her name change with Butler.

“I submitted a certified copy of a court order for [my] name change, literally the day after I [turned in] the court order, but the person I was working with at Registration [& Records] was not there,” Waiss said. “She emailed me back and said, ‘Hey, unfortunately this is not acceptable documentation.’ Initially I was told it had to be a passport or driver’s license.”

After running into a few hitches changing her legal name with Butler, she reached out to Randall Ojeda, the Efroymson Diversity Center senior director. Waiss shared that Ojeda was able to help connect her with someone from Registration & Records.

“[I am] waiting for the passport agency, then waiting for the DMV, [and] all of this stuff is taking time I don’t have as a college kid,” Waiss said. “Fortunately, I was able to go back to Registration [& Records] and work with Randall Ojeda out of the Diversity Center. I just told him my situation and we were able to update my information through Butler with my social security card.”

Waiss said that Ojeda was an excellent support person during this change; after meeting with him, Waiss was able to pick up the pace of the process.

Emi Rosen is a junior English major and the president of Butler LGBTQIA+ Alliance. When Rosen first arrived at Butler, she immediately began the preferred name change process through My.Butler. 

“My.Butler has preferred name [and] name as enrolled, which are two different things” Rosen said. “Your name as enrolled is the [name] on your ID and packages. [Seeing it] it’s kind of jarring. It’s not demoralizing, that’s too far, but it’s definitely like, ‘Oh, okay … Now I [have to] think about this.’”

After Waiss’ experience changing both her preferred and legal name with Butler, she was able to form an event to help future students’ experiences.

“When I changed my preferred name it didn’t auto-populate all of the fields it should have,” Waiss said. “I had the pleasure to work with associate dean Elise Edwards, out of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, as well as Dr. Lavender [McKittrick-Sweitzer]. I worked with them and two other transgender or nonbinary students to put on a faculty workshop for supporting transgender and nonbinary students in the classroom.”

As Butler continues to make efforts in diversity, equity and inclusion, there are many places a student may turn for support during a name change transition. The Diversity Center, Butler LGBTQIA+ Alliance, Butler’s LGBT Resource Libguide and academic advisors are all excellent resources to use when looking into the change. 

“Talk to Alliance, we have a lot of resources,” Rosen said. “The Title IX [office was] happy to help with name changes. A lot of people in that division are really friendly and willing to go the legal [name change] route. If you’re comfortable talking to your advisor, your advisor can help with [preferred name changes].”

Waiss added that, in her case, Butler staff and faculty became valuable resources during this change. 

“Faculty, specifically professors, lecturers and the people you interact with in the classroom, as well as your department administrative staff — they are some of the best people at Butler,” Waiss said. “They are your best buddies when it comes to supporting you in and outside of the classroom. Don’t be afraid to see what works for you. No single transition story is a perfect transition story, and no single journey is going to work for everybody.”