ISSUES
Is UNC Behind on Gender-Neutral Housing?
‘During summer school … my roommate left and brought back two friends. They began looking
at Facebook together and making fun of peo-
ple they thought were ‘faggots.’ ”
“Suitemates were extremely uncomfortable
with my sexual orientation. For the 10
months I lived in housing, they avoided me in
the bathroom.”
“My roommate felt uncomfortable living
with me because I was bisexual, and made
me feel unsafe and unwanted.”
“My roommate expressed her disapproval
and talked rudely with her friends about my
being queer. On the phone she often used
anti-gay slurs. It was an ongoing thing that
lasted the entire year we lived together.”
These were among the responses from
a recent campus climate survey assessing
student experiences on campus, specifically
focusing on sexuality and gender. They’re
one reason that there is a push to provide
gender-neutral housing options on campus
beginning next fall.
The plan is awaiting action by Vice
Chancellor for Student Affairs Winston
Crisp ’ 92 (JD), followed by review by the
chancellor and the trustees, but the movement on campus has gained a fair amount
of support and little in the way of disapproval. Currently, the Housing and Residential Education team is looking at the
logistics of how it could work at UNC.
“[Gender-neutral housing] is happening
all across the country,” said Housing
Director Larry Hicks. “It has been around
for about 10 years. ... For some reason, the
conversation always drops to the subject of
sex, and this isn’t what this housing option
is about. It’s about accommodating student
needs.”
In its simplest form, gender-neutral
housing means gender is not part of the
equation, and people can room with peo-
ple of the opposite gender. Anyone can
participate, be they gay, straight, transgen-
der. The concern often is about a hetero-
sexual man and a heterosexual female
rooming together.
Being gay or lesbian doesn’t have any-
thing to do with it per se, but this issue has
been taken up by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisex-
ual, Transgender and Queer Center in part
because those who are gay or lesbian often
also deal with gender issues. The hope is
that students who feel more comfortable
living with someone of the opposite gen-
der have the option to do so.
10
January/February 2012
