UCLA Housing officials are currently looking into gender-neutral
housing options that would allow students to choose a roommate
regardless of sex.
Having a gender-neutral housing facility would allow for a more
accepting environment and benefit not just lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender students, but all students who want to live with
whomever they feel most comfortable, regardless of sex, according
to Ronni Sanlo, director of the UCLA Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender Resource Center.
Sanlo said there is definite interest among LGBT students for
gender-neutral housing on the Hill.
“It makes it feel a lot more like home,” she
said.
Suzanne Seplow, director of the Office of Residential Life, said
the topic of gender-neutral housing has come up in meetings with
other University of California housing directors and that officials
are continuing to look at ways to accommodate the needs of
transgender students.
“It’s actually something we’ve been paying
attention to for a few years now,” Seplow said.
Sanlo said gender-neutral housing would allow transgender
students to feel safer around their roommates. Some transgender
students are afraid to disclose their previous gender identity for
fear of rejection, according to Seplow.
Currently, Seplow said living arrangements for transgender
students are treated on a case-by-case basis to address the
different needs of different students.
In order to better accommodate these students, Seplow said she
meets with the Queer Alliance, an on-campus student group, to
discuss LGBT issues on the Hill.
UC Riverside was the first California university to offer
gender-neutral housing beginning this fall, allowing for
same-gender roommate, opposite-gender roommate or other
gender-identity roommate pairings.
Though all students now have the opportunity to choose the new
housing option, the issue first gained attention because of LGBT
students at UCR who had been voicing their support for
gender-neutral housing for years.
Several students at UCR approached housing officials at the
campus last year with a proposal for such a housing option.
Their proposal gained momentum and led to the establishment of a
gender-neutral housing option at the campus.
There are now 25 students at UCR who have chosen to take utilize
the gender-neutral housing option, said UCR assistant housing
director Jeanette Bradeen.
But the debate over gender-neutral facilities is not just
constrained to housing and developments on the Hill.
There are a number of existing single-stall bathrooms throughout
the campus that can be used by both males and females, and some
bathrooms will be changed to gender-neutral in the future,
according to Sanlo.
Sanlo said the debate over gender identities is broader than the
black-and-white categories of male and female.
“A lot of students don’t want to have to choose
between male and female, but choose genderqueer,” she
said.
With reports from Shauntel Lowe, Bruin senior
staff.