When the year's housing lottery begins this spring, students will be given the opportunity to live in gender-blind double bedrooms when they return in the fall, allowing male and female students to share a room together.
While no formal announcement has been made to the campus community, students involved in the long campaign for gender-neutral housing options were informed yesterday morning of the change.
"We are responding to the concerns and interest expressed by our gay and lesbian community," wrote Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Director of Residential Life Mary Pat McMahon in an e-mail to the Orient, "and we are joining a growing list of other colleges and universities—including Brown, Cornell, Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, Stanford and Swarthmore—that allow similar options."
The change complements the existing policy allowing for mixed-gender suites. It does not apply to incoming first-year students, nor to one-room triple bedrooms.
The new gender-blind policy for doubles could affect any housing that has one-bedroom doubles.
"There will not be specifically designated gender-blind spaces," wrote McMahon.
[...]
On the annual Housing Intent Form, sent out at the beginning of March, students planning to return in the fall will have a new option to live in a gender-blind double.
[...]
Preliminary student reaction appeared to range from neutrality to full support.
Well done, I say!