AMHERST, Mass. — It’s not just roommate conflicts and fire drills on the syllabus anymore. At UMass Amherst, student staff are now graded on what to do if someone who appears male walks into a women’s bathroom — and the wrong answer could cost them their job.

Mass Daily News obtained a copy of the 2024–2025 “Gender Inclusive Restroom Training” quiz from a frustrated student employee who said it was assigned as mandatory homework during the university’s two-week residential-life training held before the semester begins.
The student asked not to be named for fear of retaliation from university housing staff.

"All RAs have to do this training every single year," the student told MDN. "We come back two or three weeks before school starts and work about 40 hours a week — this is part of it. The quiz is homework, it’s mandatory, and it’s tied to our stipend pay."

The student said they felt the training goes beyond inclusion and crosses into personal belief.
"I feel what they’re doing to us as believers — forcing us to agree with an agenda and using or saying our preferred pronouns — is wrong," the student said.

The 100-point test, reviewed by MDN, is required for all resident assistants (RAs) and housing staff as part of pre-semester orientation. It’s also linked to an earlier one-credit course, EDUC 391R, that every new RA must complete before being hired — a class that covers many of the same “inclusivity” topics but is unpaid.

The short version of the quiz? Don’t say anything, don’t ask questions, and assume everyone’s in the right place.

One question presents two fictional students, John and Lisa, debating whether women feel safe sharing bathrooms with trans people who have masculine features.

Lisa says she and other women will feel less safe if trans people with traditionally masculine features or body parts are allowed to use the same restrooms as them. How should John respond?

The “correct” answer: John should tell Lisa that allowing everyone to use the restroom that corresponds with their gender identity does not endanger the safety of women. Trans and gender-nonconforming people should not be assumed to be sexual predators.

The quiz also notes that there have been no reports of cisgender women being attacked in women’s restrooms by trans or gender-nonconforming individuals.

Another scenario shows a woman entering a restroom and spotting someone who appears male. The right answer again: do nothing. Staff are told not to question anyone’s presence or make assumptions about gender identity. Unless there’s clear misconduct like filming or loitering, they’re instructed to stay silent and carry on.

According to the university, the training is meant to make shared spaces “more comfortable for everyone.” Massachusetts law allows people to use facilities that match their gender identity, and the quiz reflects that policy.

The course also includes a terminology section. “Gender Neutral,” it says, is outdated — the preferred term is “Gender Inclusive.” Those half-male, half-female restroom icons are out, too.

UMass now lists more than 150 all-gender restrooms across campus, plus over 40 with showers. These are open to anyone — transgender, nonbinary, parents with children, or anyone who prefers extra privacy.

For RAs, there’s no opting out. They must pass the training to qualify for their stipend and keep their housing job — one student described it as “just another checkbox in the growing list of mandatory inclusivity assignments.”

What was once a political flashpoint has quietly become campus routine.

At UMass Amherst, even the bathrooms now come with homework — and the wrong answer could mean no paycheck.