Beginning next fall semester, Gender-Neutral Housing will be available to students on campus.† This student initiated accommodationís main goal is to give students a secure living environment in which they have no obligation to identify with the preconceived, culturally formed gender identities of our society.
Students will be able to ìexpress themselves as people as opposed to as a specific gender, and will be able to live without a gender label,” said Professor Karen Taylor, a faculty member in support of this housing alternative.
Many people questioning their gender identity struggle to understand the confines of the two culturally determined genders.† Our society attempts to separate people distinctly into two specific groups, male or female, with no variation, when for some, gender is not a one-sided issue.† ìAll institutions want us to choose a side as either one identity or the other, so itís nice to have the opportunity to have a space where we arenít required to identify either way,” commented Taylor.
Gender-Neutral Housing opportunities are common throughout the country at other Colleges and Universities, and have been successful at creating safe living environments for GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered) and Ally students.
One aspect of potential misunderstanding regarding this housing option is that the goal of this alternative is not to provide a housing option in which couples could feasibly room together.† ìThe notion of gender neutral living has nothing to do with sex or sexuality, it simply has to do with a desire to not recognize labels,” noted Taylor.
The specific location of this housing option has yet to be established.† Currently, the College is interested in determining the amount of interest in this housing alternative.† Once the demand for Gender-Neutral Housing has been established and accounted for,† Residence Life will be able to appropriately accommodate those interested.† All of the logistical details regarding this housing option will be taken care of before housing decisions need to be made by the students, and again, the amount of interest† is the focus currently.† If students are interested in finding out more information regarding this housing alternative, you can email Erin Leonardi, Associate Director of Residence Life at eleonardi@wooster.edu.
Emma Zieske í12 and Sarah Hunt ë12, two of the student initiators of this new housing option, emphasized that the primary aim of creating this housing project ìis that it will function as a safe space for GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered) and ally students.”
