Supporters of a gender-neutral housing option on campus gathered Thursday for a last push of support before the proposal goes to administrative review.
Today at 5 p.m., Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Winston Crisp will receive the proposal for the initiative, which would give students the option to live with roommates of the opposite sex.
The proposal includes a petition that has been signed by more than 2,500 students, said Kevin Claybren, the leader of the project.
Claybren led the Thursday meeting with Terri Phoenix, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Center, to explain and rally student support for the request. More than 100 students attended the meeting.
Claybren said he hopes the hard work he and other members of the campus community have put into the proposal will be evident to administrators.
He said student feedback at the meeting was empowering.
“Students were asking questions as if this were already passed,” Claybren said.
In order for the department of Housing and Residential Education to enact the new housing option, the proposal will have to be approved by Crisp and Chancellor Holden Thorp, Phoenix said. If approved by Thorp, the proposal will be sent to the Board of Trustees.
Phoenix said the proposal needs to be addressed by the board before its November meeting, its last of the semester, if the option is going to be implemented by the fall of next year.
More than 650 students have expressed interest in a gender-neutral housing option, Claybren said.