Following the lead of over 60 other colleges and universities across the United States, The George Washington University is considering implementing gender-neutral housing for the 2011-2012 school year. The university’s final decision will be announced this fall, but the deliberation alone reflects a standpoint that contrasts with the more conservative views held at Georgetown.
GWU student group Colonials for Gender-Neutral Housing, founded in September 2009, has been working with Allied in Pride, GWU’s LBGT student association, the GW Student Association and other student organizations on the issue of mixed-gender housing.
In January 2010, a SA senate resolution passed advocating the implementation of GNH at GWU, and the proposal was brought before the administration.
The Colonials for Gender-Neutral Housing seek to open GNH to all students at GWU, including incoming freshmen, in a voluntary program.
“The beauty of the program is that it benefits students who want to partake in it and does not affect students who do not want to participate,” Michael Komo, the three-year president of Allied in Pride and four-year member of its executive board, wrote in an email.
Participation in the program would require a request to live with a specific roommate of the opposite gender. No student would be placed randomly with a member of the opposite sex.
While the issue of gender-neutral housing has not yet been raised at Georgetown, preliminary discussions to consider gender-neutral bathrooms occurred in fall 2009.
The current administration is not in favor of gender-neutral housing, citing a perception that current housing arrangements accommodate student needs.
“Coed residence halls with single-gender living units and bathrooms are welcoming and comfortable, providing the right balance of community living spaces and privacy that is important to students on our campus. We don’t have any plans to change our policies in this area,” university spokeswoman Julie Bataille said in an email.
Komo, however, thinks that students would feel equally at home in gender-neutral halls.
“GNH will allow students to be happy in their living environment – meaning they will be happier students. This will help ensure that they will perform better in their classrooms and have an overall better GW experience,” Komo said.
Critics of the program argue that GNH will allow romantically involved couples to live together, potentially creating tension in on-campus dorms. Komo refuted the criticism by observing that same-sex couples already have the option to share rooms, but that they rarely choose to do so. Statistically, he said, less than 1 percent of students who participate in GNH opt to room with a romantic partner.
GWU established its Escaping Gender Living and Learning Cohort three years ago. The cohort houses six students and is the only gender-neutral campus housing option. While Georgetown has no designated gender-neutral housing program, all Living Learning Communities are open to members of both sexes on mixed gender floors. In addition, many students opt for living arrangements with peers of different genders.
No school that has offered GNH has rescinded its program. Studies show that only 1 to 2 percent of students participate in GNH where it is available. Based on those numbers, the “Colonials for Gender-Neutral Housing foresee participation of 100 to 200 students in the pilot year of their program.
Though the program has not been officially approved, student supporters at GWU seem to feel confident about the proposal and the benefits that it will offer. According to Komo, the program is designed simply to make students more comfortable.
“GNH is a program in which friends will be able to live with their friends with whom they are most comfortable regardless of gender,” he said.
