The Towerlight, December 8, 2011

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Page 16-17 Former employee won’t stand for being called ‘sir’ Parking Assoc, says she will file discrimination complaint LAUREN SLAVIN Editor-in-Chief Stephanie Petrides is not a "sir." Because the 24-year-old has cropped hair and said she feels naked without a baseball cap, assumptions are made about her sexual orientation and gen¬ der identity at first glance. And that can be a problem if your job was to write parking citations on Towson University’s campus. “I know it takes a lot of patience to do this kind of job. We’re the jerks on campus, obviously, and I’m OK with that," Petrides said. "I know how to respond calmly and professionally to anyone that might come up to me with an issue or come up yelling at me and whatnot." After a series of complaints filed by those corrected by Petrides when they referred to her with the incorrect pronoun, Parking and Transportation Services dismissed her from her job as a parking enforcement associate on Nov. 30. While two incidents at the Baltimore County Court Building in Towson led to a written warning and suspension before Petrides’ termination, she said working on campus was a daily strug¬ gle against discrimination. Petrides said she plans to file a com¬ plaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for discrimination because of her perceived sexual orientation and gender identity and because Parking and Transportation failed to report or take action when she brought up workplace discrimination concerns. Director of Parking and Transportation Services Pamela Mooney would not provide The Towerlight with any information on Petrides employment or termination. Christopher Curry/ The Towerlight Stephanie Petrides, 24, was recently fired from her job as a Parking and Transportation parking associate. Petrides said her termination was in part due to discrimination against her perceived sexual orientation and gender identity, and plans to file a complaint with the EEOC. People found that non-normative gender expressions, such as short hair on women, triggered harassment. at Towson Employed University In mid-August 2011, Towson University’s Department of Parking and Transportation hired Petrides as a parking enforcement associate, a role similar to a job she had held at American University, where she received her undergraduate degree. Petrides said she has always worked in customer service: as a lifeguard, at Barnes & Noble and Borders booksell¬ ers, at American University’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Ally Resource Center, as a kennel manager for the Baltimore Humane Society, and as a volunteer at Jasmine’s House Inc., a pitbull rescue center. Working with bark¬ ing dogs and a severe ear infection during college left Petrides with a slight hear¬ ing impairment, which she said causes her to speak loudly and has gotten her into trouble in the Towson University Policies KYLA BENDER-BAIRD Towson University alumna, author of "Transgender Employment Experiences " Towson University has a policy prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, which is defined as the identifi¬ cation, perception, or status of an individual as to homosexual¬ ity, heterosexuality, bisexuality, or transgender. “Departments may establish additional non-discriminatory appearance standards based on operational needs . . . Factors to consider may include the work location, the physical require¬ ments of the job, and health/ safety practices.” — Towson University Standards of Dress Policy See PARKING, page 9 The TU Post Office is now selling Save the Vanishing Species Tiger Stamps. Proceeds go to support the Multinational Species Conservation Fund.