The University of Idaho is working to provide students and employees with the ability to use their preferred first name for use across platforms like BlackboardLearn and VandalWeb.
The changes are intended to prevent instances of deadnaming, experiences with which members of the transgender community are all too familiar. A person is deadnamed when they are called by their âbirth nameâ or âgiven nameâ when they no longer use it.
Interactions on programs like BlackboardLearn can cause difficulties when studentsâ dead names are still used. Students may not feel comfortable with those names as they may not represent them anymore, especially if theyâve already begun their transition.