Transgender Student Denied Name and Gender Change Sues University Administrators

Pomona, CA –May 16, 2008– Today, Olympia Tveter, a transgender student filed and served a name and gender change lawsuit upon five administrators at the California Polytechnic University, Pomona, to claim her rights and seek remedy for her injuries. The administrators are also being charged with violations of privacy, misrepresentation of identity, deceit, conspiracy, and widespread racketeering.

Ms. Tveter has been in negotiations with the charged administrators for approximately the past three years, found they were consciously unwilling to change her name and gender in her school records, predominately claiming it was simply not “incumbent” upon them to honor her right to a name and gender change. The administrators actually did concede and change her gender marker in mid-summer of last year, but her gender is still not changed as reflected by her name.

Maria L. Martinez, (University Registrar), David E. Johnson (former Director of Judicial Affairs), Kathleen A. Street (Vice President of Enrollment Services), J. Michael Ortiz (University President), and Carmen Munoz-Silva (Director of Diversity and Compliance) are the administrators changed.

At this time, a court date is scheduled for a declaratory judgement on June 2nd, 2008. The progression of events to the point before Ms. Tveter pursued the suit is documented at the accompanying link.