One gender-neutral room approved for fall, no policy in place
At the close of last school year, the CMU Student Government Association officially supported gender-neutral housing, but their support was not enough to sway the administration.
“Central doesn’t offer gender-neutral housing to students who are brothers and sisters, boyfriends and girlfriends, or close friends because it’s part of the University’s mission to expose its students to people from different backgrounds who are unfamiliar to them,” said Shaun Holtgreive, associate director of Residence Life.
He said students who wish to be considered simply have to contact the office of Residence Life.
Ohio sophomore and Transcend member Ryan Quinn said the current policy is insufficient, and needs to be made more public.
“Myself and several other transgender students couldn’t find the housing we wanted," Quinn said. "Central supposedly has a plan in place, but it is hard to find."
He is going to continue supporting gender-neutral housing by discussing it with students and administration.
Robinson Residence Hall Director and proposal creator Bridget Dunigan said the case-by-case policy is a good first step because it addresses the issue, but said more needs to be done. She agreed with Quinn that the policy needs to be made more public.
“The current policy forces LGBT community members, specifically those who are transgender, to have to admit it," Dunigan said. "And many students don’t even know that the case-by-case review is available."
The gender-neutral housing proposal would extend the option for all students with a few stipulations.
"I’m looking for social justice for everyone," Dunigan said. "I don’t want students to look at this as a LGBT issue because this policy would benefit everyone."
She encourages students who care about the issue to continue to voice their concerns.
"Students will be very instrumental in getting a proposal that they want to see passed," Dunigan said.
