What do you get when you put man and woman together for nine months? If you said a baby, you’re wrong. Try gender-neutral housing, an increasingly popular college housing option that isn’t about gender.
As students settle into their dorm rooms, now is the perfect time for students to petition the University to provide this comfortable, safe living option for students.
By allowing students of any gender the option of living together, UNC would give students the choice of living with whomever they’d feel most comfortable. The current system places many students in uncomfortable situations that are easily avoided with a gender-neutral option.
Regardless of the cause, from personal gender identity to simple preference, there is no reason for gender to be a discriminating factor in housing selection.
Harvard University and the University of South Florida have both instated a gender-neutral housing option. So did Rutgers University following the suicide of freshman Tyler Clementi.
UNCDespite being deemed unconstitutional in 2006, the state’s Fornication and Adultery law does not allow for two non-married people of the opposite sex to live together. Why this law remains on the books is anyone’s guess.
Even without this barrier, UNC housing administrators say it would take a student push, and interest from the Board of Trustees, before gender-neutral policies would be considered at UNC. With students making that push, there’s no reason to wait.
As a public institution with a proud track record of progressive policies, UNC should always embrace the opportunity to provide a more inclusive environment, not hold to antiquated policies that drive them to off-campus solutions.
