There are six ? count ’em, six ? people in the “NC State community” who are also “Members of the NCSU Transgender/Gender Queer Community.” This information is according to the recently completed “North Carolina State University Transgender Needs Assessment” conducted at the request of NC State’s Division of Student Affairs. So naturally, a portion of the assessment was devoted to “Transgender in the Curriculum.”

Six people at NC State accounts for less than 0.02 percent of the “community” population (counting only the total enrollment of 30,149 ? even though the “community” also includes all administrators, faculty, and staff, too). That’s a very small demographic for which to change the curriculum, wouldn’t you think?

Not surprisingly, the author is one of the six, and also not surprisingly, the author’s research focus is “trans/gender queer” activism, which comes out in the “Transgender in the Curriculum” section:

The study?s trans/gender queer individuals were asked about their interest in a sexuality studies program. They were also asked about the creation of trans specific courses at NCSU. None of the respondents in this study favored the creation of a special course for transgender concerns. None mentioned a need for a queer studies curriculum or sexuality studies minor. The transgender students interviewed at nearby universities concurred. [Here it comes.] These results could be biased. It is quite possible that individuals interested in sexuality studies would enroll where the programs are currently offered. They are not likely to be found at NCSU.

Fortunately for the author, N.C. State has a pliable Vice Provost for Diversity and African-American Affairs, Dr. Jose Picart. When Picart arrived in mid-October 2003, he announced in The News & Observer that “professors should integrate diversity into the classroom of every discipline, no matter how technical.” And just in case someone thought he was bluffing: “For example, he said, a humanities student could be required to attend a lecture or dinner and then write an essay about it. An engineering professor could require students to go into the community to conduct group projects, then grade them on their interactions with residents.”

In the assessment we find:

Dr. Picart was asked about the inclusion of transgender issues in current courses. He was in favor of this.