It’s one small sign for a bathroom, one big symbol of inclusion at the Questrom School of Business.

For a class social change project, with “a sustainable, measurable impact on the social fabric of a chosen community,” six students in the Law and Ethnics class arranged to have the designation of two single-stall bathrooms on the school’s third floor officially changed from “Men” and “Women” to “All Gender.”

The students say their intent was to demonstrate that the business school, widely regarded as one of the more conservative schools on campus, welcomes transgender students and others who define themselves outside binary gender. The “All Gender Restroom” signs read, “Anyone can use this restroom, regardless of gender identity or expression.” The message is also in Braille.

“It’s acceptance,” says Zack Robinson (Questrom’16), whose project team consists of Benji Hadar (Questrom’16), Alex Paroda (Questrom’16), India Mazzarelli (Questrom’17), Halle Gecawich (Questrom’16), and Zach Cracknell (Questrom’16). “It’s basically saying, not only do we recognize that you exist, but we support who you are, and we are providing a safe place for you even for day-to-day tasks like using the restroom.”

Two bathrooms might not sound like much, but they are the only single-stall bathrooms on classroom floors at Questrom, and thus open to anyone in the building during regular business hours.

“I wouldn’t say any of us has a direct connection to the topic, but it’s something I’m aware of because of friends,” says Robinson. Researching the topic, the students found that a wide majority of transgender people had experienced some discrimination in using a restroom.

Robinson said that while giving tours to prospective students as a tour leader at Admissions, he noticed the gender-neutral restrooms at the recently renovated Alan & Sherry Leventhal Center. There are also all-gender bathrooms in other campus locations, among them the School of Law, both the Sumner M. Redstone Building and the Law Tower.

“That reaffirmed to us that there was not only precedent for what we were trying to do, but that this is a general initiative of the University,” says Cracknell, “that BU is on track to make it a more open and receptive environment.

Other projects tackled by groups in the class were a voter registration drive and a canned food drive. “I will say when I heard what they were going to do, I was excited, but a little apprehensive for them, because I thought it was a risky choice,” in large part because of the all-or-nothing nature of the idea, says senior lecturer Rachel Spooner, who teaches the class.

The sign change took about a month to enact. The group’s initial email to Questrom administration was referred to Maria D. Anderson, senior associate dean, finance and administration, who handles space issues in the Rafik B. Hariri Building.

“The proposal was well-thought-out and made the case that this was a very simple change that we could make to create a climate of greater inclusion for the students, faculty, staff, and visitors,” says Anderson. Kenneth Freeman, Allen Questrom Professor and Dean, agreed.

Anderson says she was initially told that she would have to make a formal space-change request through University channels, as with any building project. But in the end all she had to do was place a request with the University sign shop, which has made similar signage for other gender-neutral bathrooms around campus.

“I believe it says a great deal about our students, who identified a simple way to create an even more welcoming atmosphere here at Questrom,” Anderson says. “I believe that the University leadership demonstrated their support as well by making the process a very simple one.”

“We hope this will act as a catalyst for other schools at BU,” Cracknell says.

“I think it’s really wonderful to see that students in Questrom are not only using their skills to think about finance and accounting, but how they can impact this great social change,” says Cecilia Yudin (CFA’09, MET’14), assistant director of Questrom’s Undergraduate Program Office and a member of a University working group on creating an inclusive campus environment for all students.

“This generation, especially, can be so overwhelmed with all the current problems, and they feel like there’s nothing they can do to make a dent,” Yudin says, adding that there are many opportunities to make a difference close to home.