Georgetown University will enhance its process of providing gender-inclusive housing, with a pilot program adding a question on gender-inclusive housing to students’ living preference surveys to begin this fall for the Class of 2028, the Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) announced on Instagram June 10.
Under the pilot program, incoming first-years will be able to indicate their need for or interest in living in gender-inclusive housing through the Campus Housing Roommate Matching System (CHARMS), Georgetown’s roommate pairing system. Rising sophomores, juniors and seniors completed arranging their housing for the 2024-25 academic year during the Spring 2024 semester; a university spokesperson said Georgetown will aim to include a similar question on all undergraduates’ housing surveys during the next housing selection cycle.
According to a university spokesperson, the university currently works with students identifying as transgender, nonbinary or gender non-conforming to find housing options on a case-by-case basis.
Students including GUSA President Jaden Cobb (CAS ’25) have worked with university administrators throughout the year on refining the university’s gender-inclusive housing system. In an April referendum, undergraduates voted overwhelmingly to approve a resolution which would encourage Georgetown to modify its gender-inclusive housing process.
Cobb said creating the option for gender-inclusive housing represents a momentous change for the student body.
“This is a huge moment on campus and for marginalized communities, our LGBTQ+ community,” Cobb told The Hoya. “The vision to really make Georgetown an inclusive campus that the students voted on for the referendum has finally come to fruition.”
A university spokesperson said the university aims to continue supporting students of all identities through enhancing its gender-inclusive housing process.
“Georgetown University is committed to creating an inclusive, safe, and welcoming campus for all members of our community across all gender and sexual identities,” the spokesperson wrote to The Hoya. “Students have the right to be placed in housing that aligns with their gender identity.”
Cobb said that students’ push for gender-inclusive housing has been successful because of the advocacy of organizations like GU Pride, a student organization that works to support LGBTQ+ students; GU Queer People of Color (QPOC), a student organization for LGBTQ+ students of color; and the LGBTQ Resource Center, a center that supports the LGBTQ+ community at Georgetown through advocacy and outreach.
“This has been a project that has been worked on for decades and has been needed for decades,” Cobb said. “I just want to give support and a shout-out to the various organizations and activists and organizers who have come before me to get things like this done, to really create Georgetown as a genuine inclusive housing space.”
Cobb said GUSA and other organizations that have been advocating for gender-inclusive housing will continue to partner with the university to discuss ongoing and future plans for gender-inclusive housing.
Liam Moynihan (SFS ’25), who serves as GU Pride’s advocacy director and said they have previously experienced housing discrimination at Georgetown, said students’ continued advocacy has given them hope for making Georgetown a more gender-inclusive campus.
“I’m thrilled, I’m tired, I am optimistic,” Moynihan told The Hoya. “I think we have a lot of work left to do as students to ensure that the university continues to work hard to meet their commitment and that the university continues to hear our voice as they shape the policies that will shape our lives.”
During the April referendum, 91.2% of participating students voted in favor of the university creating “comprehensive gender-inclusive housing,” with 31.2% of students voting.
Cobb said this referendum and subsequent university support to create the pilot program demonstrates gender-inclusive housing’s popularity.
“The people’s voices have been heard, and I am more than excited that 91.2% of Georgetown University students who voted in the referendum supported their fellow classmates,” Cobb said. “I think this is going to go a long way.”
Moynihan said students and the university must continue to work together to create a gender-inclusive campus.
“I think the next step is just making sure that, for first-years and for everybody, that comprehensive gender-inclusive housing happens, that you can live with a student regardless of your gender,” Moynihan said.
This article was updated June 17, 2024, to add a university spokesperson’s comment and clarify the process of refining university gender-inclusive housing policies.