“my concern is that we haven’t adequately explained it to our many stakeholders off campus,” Thorp wrote.”

What does that even mean? Whose permission do we need?

Many stakeholders? Who is he referring to?

@John Black/Cassie: Whose permission? Well, maybe the taxpayers of the state, through whose generosity this university is funded? How about the state legislature, who has to apporve said generosity? THe supporters of gener-neutral housing may think their opponents are brain-dead cretins, but the Golden Rule still applies.

And I’d be interested in knowing how many people are suffering becasue of gender segregated housing. This proposal seems to be a solution in search of a problem. Want a roommate of the opposite, or even indeterminate, gender? Get an appartment!

it baffles me that people off campus matter when it comes to people being harassed on campus and needed safer housing.

seriously to the person who said get an apartment: some people’s financial aid/scholarships/etc will ONLY pay for on campus housing.

How is this issue the business of the legislature or the people of the state? That doesn’t make any sense.

“my concern is that we haven’t adequately explained it to our many stakeholders off campus…”

Translation: It’s not gonna fly with our old, conservative donors who, thanks to regressive shifts in education funding allocations at both the state and federal levels, are now a primary source of funding for the University.

@Shade: I would have felt more comfortable these past two years if gender-neutral housing were an option. My parents want me on-campus, yet they have no idea of what I go through because things are complicated.

There’s a lot of latent discrimination on campus. It’s just a lot harder to notice when you’re not the one experiencing it.

@John Black: Ok, let’s try this one more time: Who you choose to live with is probably not anyone else’s business, but the fact remains that this is a PUBLIC university. UNC is funded, by and large, through the taxpayers of the state. That money is allocated to the University via the state legislature. And these two groups are, by and large, quite a bit more conservative than our cozy little university community. They may not be down with funding such student housing. I trust you are with me so far. Now, the esteemed Chancellor recognizes this unfortunate fact of life, unlike, apparently, yourself. He also understands that antagonizing those who control the purse strings, especially in uncertain financial times, is a bad idea. So, I suspect he will take time to “sell” this idea to the powers that be.. Of course, its possible that this is a tactic designed to allow the issue to die a quiet death. But only time will tell. This, my baffled friends, is an outstanding example of the Golden Rule: “He with the gold makes the rules.” While a private university, such as Duke, could do as they wished in regards to this issue, UNC does not have that luxury. So you can see, Mr. Black, that in fact my argument, and the Chancellor’s decision, makes quite a bit of sense in the real world.. You may not like it, but there it is. Some time for quiet reflection may be in order before you post again on this topic.

@Shade, I’m suffering because of gender segregated housing. I have a job that requires me to live on campus. Furthermore, I cannot afford to live off campus- I’m on financial aid. I have to live in a room or on campus apartment with people of the same legal gender as me. Its incredibly frustrating to have people come to my apartment, see the names of my roommates on the door and assume they know my gender based on that.

Does anyone really think the state lawmakers care about a tiny pilot program for gender-neutral dorms? If so, is there any actual evidence of this? Not only would they have to care about it, they would have to care so much that they would change UNC funding over it.

Ok I think I missed te part where you explained how it’s anyone’s business. Is the education of the students affected? More or less regulation would result from the policy?

@Trilby: There are people in the legislature who would be more than happy to use this issue, or any other, as an excuse to punish UNC financially. I mean, some years ago there was a serious move to penalize UNC because it would not schedule football games against ECU. But that is the kind of person who controls the flow of money.

@ Irrelevant: I find it diffuclt to see how having your name on the door causes great suffering. I mean, if you were subject to beatings, or extensive name calling, I could see the need for alternative housing. As it is, I don’t recall many reports of discrimination against this population. Perhaps someone could enlighten me as to the number of students we are talking about here? And what, specifically, are the challenges and issues for these students in regards to living in gender-specific housing?

@John Black: Its NOT anyone’s business, its not right, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the quality of education. Its the real world intruding in the form of the funding mechanism from the state. Seriously, I can’t make it any easier than that. Maybe Mystic could help explain this, but his/her posts do run on so.

@Shade Which people in the state legislature? And do they have enough votes or influence to actually change UNC’s funding? Gender neutral housing is barely even an issue on our campus, much less an decisive issue in state politics. I’d also love to see a link to the ECU-UNC football scheduling conflict you mentioned, I couldn’t find anything on it.

It is simply not true that “UNC is funded, by and large, through the taxpayers of the state.” The largest source of university revenue is federal grants (about 50%). Private donations also make up about 20%, around the same amount as state appropriations; but while private giving is rising, state funding has steadily decreased over the years.

Three cheers for the Chancellor. What a stupid waste of time and money! Get real, in life there are only men and women. Chose, and be happy with it, but stop wasting out time.

whoever said they are on financial aid and therefore have to live on campus is an idiot. living on campus is a huge rip off and one of the biggest ways you can waste your money while in college.

I may stand corrected on the percentage of funding from the state, but the fact remains that UNC struggles every year to maintain this allocation. My read of this situation is that the Chancellor is unwilling to risk that funding for what seems a limited impact policy. In regards to the specific elected officils opposed to the policy, since it has not been formalized, and as I dont have access to the legislaive staff memebrs, I cannot give you names. Again, this is my hunch regarding the Chancellor’s decision. If you disagree, by all means do post your own theory.

@Shade It’s not the names, it’s the constant misgendering. Yes, I’m not getting beaten up, but I still have to deal with not having my identity affirmed.

@Sven Goli even if you are talking about sex, and not gender, you are incorrect, as there are intersex people.

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Chancellor Thorp made this decision under the pressure of those who fund this school, and he clearly implies this pressure in his language. Whether those people are politicians or wealthy donors is irrelevant unless someone can scrounge up a list of names. In some ways, this decision does go to show that Thorp may be more of a figurehead than a real force on this campus as he seems to disagree with the decision he’s making. However, he also seems to be compelled to make this decision by an amount of money that he just could not imagine our school going without in order to provide greater comfort to a minority on this campus. Is this a loss for the LGBTQ community? Of course. Is this a loss for liberals on this campus? Probably. Is it a loss for the school? We’ll never know unless Chancellor Thorp lays out the numbers for us to see whether the loss in funding was really worth this decision.

Was that too long?

it covers whatever housing you want to use it for. if you waste it by living on campus and paying what equals to about $800 per month for a shared dorm or a single room at best when you can rent entire apartments in the area for 500 or 600 dollars per month then it’s your own fault

if you have enough financial aid to pay for living on campus then you have more than enough to pay for living off campus with a substantial amount left over each month to pocket

When you reapply for financial aid every year, they ask you whether or not you intend to continue to live on campus. If you do not live on campus, they do not disburse funds to you for covering housing.

However, if you have Scholarships, or non-need based financial aid, I can see how it would be a waste of money.

Dear Chancellor Thorp,

Thank you for maintaining the Law number 1. and traditional family values number 2. Dont let the hippies run all over you cause if you give them an inch they will take a mile.

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IF YOU WANT GENDER NEUTRAL HOUSING LIVE OFF CAMPUS!