As the first semester comes to an end, the issue of housing policy is once again on the horizon, refocusing attention on this year’s university decision to allow transgender students to declare eligibility for university housing as their identified gender.

This practice is welcome, but comes with the caveat that trans students must present as one gender, all day, every day to retain eligibility. However, it is imperative to recognize that while not only do some students identify with a different gender than that with which they were assigned at birth, some do not identify with a gender on a binary spectrum — and this population of students must still be accommodated.

Allowing genderqueer students to choose which housing system to enter — either male or female — would provide much-needed freedom for those students and would undoubtedly change their standard of living among us on this campus.

In many ways, the people we live with in college define our college experience: When we are uncomfortable in our homes, we are more likely to struggle. Conversely, when we are comfortable in our homes, we are more likely thrive.

Georgetown administrators have expressed refusal to recognize any non-binary genders, in accordance with the Catholic Church. But allowing students to live comfortably does not require the university to make proclamations about its views on gender.

It is unlikely that Georgetown will adopt a full policy of gender-neutral housing anytime soon. But certainly there is a way to accommodate students for whom a less gender-based form of housing is a necessity, rather than a convenience, without overhauling the housing system.

Georgetown made a historic step when it allowed students to enter the housing system using the gender with which they identify. But to continue to help marginalized communities feel more at home on the Hilltop, the university must make steps toward at least some gender-neutral housing policies soon.