Chicago, IL—Darrin Gilcrest, president of the LGBTQIA Student Organization at DeLane University, hailed last Wednesday as a landmark in rights for his community. Although born a female, Gilcrest, 19, has identified as a man at least since elementary school. On Wednesday, he accomplished one of his primary aims when he convinced the university president to decree that all students are welcome to use the restroom that “corresponds to their preference.” This changed the unspoken policy that required students to use the restroom corresponding with their sex at birth.
Gilcrest was elated at the decision, “I felt like, wow! This is what progress feels like! I’m really doing it!” After some cursory celebrations with the other student members of the organization, Gilcrest ceremoniously prepared to enter the men’s restroom for the first time since stepping on campus in 2015.
“In my head, it was one of those ‘small step for a person—giant leap for humankind’ sort of moments. It symbolized all that we have worked toward, and I felt like all the students who had faced discrimination before that time were there in spirit.”
But nothing could have prepared Gilcrest for what happened next.
With a trembling voice, he explained how he entered the restroom, allowed the door to close behind him, and took a moment to relish in the quiet.
Visibly shaken, Gilcrest reports, “I was in there for maybe 3 seconds, just trying to enjoy the moment, and I…I guess I instinctively took a deep breath of…satisfaction or whatever.” That breath caused Gilcrest to realize the gravity of his actions.
“I just started gagging and coughing, like uncontrollably,” Gilcrest recalls, openly disgusted. “For a minute I thought that some hate group had pumped noxious fumes in there to ruin the moment, but nope.” Gilcrest, who had never entered a public men’s restroom before was apparently not accustomed to their typical state. “I couldn’t believe that stench. That awful, awful stench. It felt like it was just clinging onto my skin.”
As Gilcrest was trying to gain composure, he stumbled deeper into the haze to find the sink. “I knew I had to do something or I was going to pass out, but I didn’t want to just run out the door hacking like a chain-smoker after 5 seconds. So, I thought it might help to splash some water on my face.” Gilcrest’s account continued under tearful eyes. “That’s when I saw…the urinal.” Gilcrest described the porcelain receptacle as in general disarray. “It was like something out of a horror movie. It was wet in places that should never be wet. And not with water, if you know what I mean. And there was a dark, curly hair like a whole foot above the drain. I mean, how in God’s name did that get up there?”
Gilcrest explained that he could no longer bear the experience, and quickly ran out of the restroom, surprising the shocked crowd that was waiting.
“They knew by the look on my face that something was wrong.” Some of the students, seeing that Gilcrest was in distress, approached him and offered assistance. “I had to scream at them not to touch me. God knows what kinds of viruses and toxins I picked up in those few seconds. I covered my mouth and made my way to a shower through tears and sobs.”
Gilcrest reflects on the experience as eye-opening. “I can’t believe it. Here, I thought I was the one who had it bad, but this just goes to show you, things can always be worse.” He has launched a new initiative for the coming semester to improve men’s public restroom conditions, a move that has been met with mixed reactions.
Sarah Yin, a sophomore at the school, said, “I guess I’ll never understand what D[arrin Gilcrest] went through in there, but I guess it would be weird to question him. I mean, I’ve never seen him this passionate…about anything.”