I speak for all the non-binary people when I say we need the “other” option on any survey or form that determines our gender. The reason I am saying this is because you are trying to remove the “other” option from forms, and it makes me angry. Mr. President, I feel enraged that you are even considering this because not only does this affect non-binary, transgender, and gender-queer people, but this also effects the overall health of the LGBTQ+ community.

Why can’t we live our lives? You know this by now, there are people who identify as non-binary! We want the option and the freedom to identify ourselves… without being judged!

According to the Gale Opposing Viewpoints online collection “Many mental health and medical professionals assert that both sex and gender exist along a spectrum and can be dynamic or variable.” This means there are more genders than we understood in the past. The word “other-gender” has been our go-to method of identification, especially on our passports! So, Mr. President, why do you expect us to choose “male” or “female” when we are neither?

I think we are all equal in rights… but the right to gender identity? It should be ours. We may be different, but we are all human, we are just like normal people.

Harper Hamblin
VUMS Student

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Students at Vergennes Union Middle School finished a civics unit by writing open letters. The driving question was: What makes democracy work? To create this final project, teachers and students used the New York Times open letter contest framework. Students could choose any topic they felt passionate about. The letters are being published in several different venues: in our school newsletter, on Front Porch Forum, in The Addison Independent, and on school bulletin boards. Two students submitted their letters to the NYT contest! Our students did a wonderful job writing these letters, and we hope you enjoy reading the ones that appear here. We expect these students will continue to use their voices to highlight issues they care about!

Libby Payeur and Nan Guilmette
VUMS Humanities Teachers