Student Union members have released an online survey to students on gender-neutral housing as part of their initiative to move forward with the issue.
Caitlin Seele, chair of the gender-neutral housing sub-committee, said the survey responses should give the committee an accurate idea of students’ needs.
“We are also looking for a [large] number of responses so that we can show the administration that there is really substantial student support for this initiative,” the School of Management sophomore said in an email interview with The Daily Free Press.
Seele called the survey one of the most important components of the initiative.
While the idea was discussed at length in the fall, no formal proposal was ever submitted, said Natalie Siddique, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore who lead the initiative last semester.
The sub-committee in the fall worked to create a framework and starting point to develop a proposal this year, Siddique said. Members conducted research looking into the methods other institutions use and worked to create a timeline and plan for the initiative.
“Last year we had a great team of some people that were incredibly passionate about the issue,” Seele said. “I would say that the only problem that we ran into last semester was the time pressure as the end of the year approached.”
The spring sub-committee revamped the proposal and spoke with the administration before releasing the survey, Seel said.
If passed, Seele said the initiative would be brought to campus in various trial stages. These stages would involve resident experience evaluations and training for residence assistants.
Students would live in suite-style residences with bedroom doors that individually lock during this trial period. While the number of gender-neutral rooms would be limited at first, they would increase over time to accommodate any student that requests it.
The drafted proposal suggests a limited number of gender-neutral rooms that would be available for upperclassmen only, Seele said. Rooms would be assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Students requesting gender-neutral housing would specifically request their roommates, and both would have to apply to live with each other.
Seele said students can vocalize their opinion outside of the survey by visiting the sub-committee members and sending feedback via email.
The sub-committee members decided they will hold a town-hall-style meeting in the upcoming weeks, but no date has been released, Seele said.
Siddique said she hopes to see a formal proposal created and brought forth to the administration.
“I’m confident that the support for the initiative on behalf of our student body will aid the implementation of [gender-neutral housing] on our campus,” she said.
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