Bobb-McCulloch, love nest?
Photo: John Meguerian
Students who are finalizing campus housing situations for next year ahead of the April 19 housing lottery now have a new option to weigh: rooming on campus with someone of the opposite sex.
Northwestern’s Gender Protection Initiative gained formal university approval Friday to launch a gender neutral housing program for the 2010-2011 school year. The university plans to set aside 18-20 beds as part of the pilot program. Now, the leaders of NU’s GPI are now working to communicate with interested students. The program will be contained to one or two dorms on campus, depending on the level of interest generated by the new housing option.
Although all students are welcome to participate in gender neutral housing, the option targets LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) students who may feel more comfortable rooming with someone of the opposite sex.
GPI has worked for several years to bring gender neutral housing to campus, sending similar proposals to the university in years past. With gender identity and gender expression added to the university’s non-discrimination policy last year, this decision helps the university catch up with its intentions.
Even with this dramatic change, Northwestern lags behind comparable peer institutions when it comes to gender neutral housing. Before the Friday decision, 13 of the nation’s top 20 universities already had gender neutral housing policies in place.
[NBN]
[HuffPo]
[LA Times]
