The Office of Residence Life will pilot an all gender housing program on a floor of McDonald Hall starting the fall of 2016.
In the all gender housing, new and returning students may live with any student of any sex, gender, gender identity or expression.
Although any student can live in the all gender housing, it is proposed as a housing option for LGBT students.
“As is outlined in the description of the floor, it’s open to anyone who wants to cohabitate in this way,” Vern Cooper said, coordinator for the LGBT Resource Office. “But, it’s going to include and be intentionally inclusive of and affirming for TGNC (transgender and gender nonconforming) students.”
The Office of Residence Life produced this pilot program as a response to students voicing their concerns about housing options for TGNC students.
Most of the on-campus housing at the University reflects the traditional model for residence halls and is organized by sex, whether by room or by floor. This model assumes that a student’s gender matches their sex at birth, which does not account for students with transgender and gender nonconforming identities who do not fall into a binary gender role.
The all gender housing program corrects the outdated sex-segregated model, Cooper said.
Different from the gender neutral housing currently located in Founders, the all gender housing in McDonald will be available to both new and returning students. The gender neutral housing is traditionally for returning students.
McDonald also offers students a community style bathroom rather than the private bathrooms in Founders.
“There’s a lot conversation about gender, gender identity and sexual orientation in general. We’ve had different concerns raised about how we do our housing assignments,” Sarah Waters, director of Residence Life, said. “This year we heard loud and clear that students think that sharing a bath is important.”
The students on the all gender housing floor, regardless of sex, gender, gender identity or expression, will use the same community style bathroom.
Although gender neutral housing in Founders will continue to be offered to students, placing all gender housing in McDonald will offer a more economical option for students.
Founders is one of the most expensive housing options on campus, and the higher cost caused issues with students who showed interest in living in the gender neutral housing arrangement but could not afford Founders’ price tag.
McDonald, one of the cheaper housing options at the University, is a more affordable option for students interested in the all gender housing. There is also no additional charge to live on the all gender floor.
Pac Wood IV, a junior and transgender student looking to live in the all gender housing during the 2016-17 school year, said housing the program in McDonald gives her the financial ability to live in an environment where she can feel comfortable in her own home.
However, not everyone is as enthusiastic about the program as Wood.
Since announcing the program, the Office of Residence Life has received negative feedback through its Facebook and email, Waters said.
Despite the vocalized disapproval of the program by some, Waters said that meeting the housing needs of every student is important. If the program goes well, the Office of Residence Life will look to expand the program in the future.
Housing operations on campuses nation-wide are working to improve upon or develop programs similar to the all gender housing as members and allies of the LGBT community are becoming more vocal about concerns.
“We are trying to create supportive environments, and we are hoping that this is another option for housing that will allow someone to feel safe and comfortable here so that they can be academically successful,” Waters said. “You have to be positive about where you live to go and feel good in your classes too.”
Students interested in living in all gender housing can visit the Office of Residence Life webpage for more information or applications.
