Deciding on where to live on the festering apathy on maintaining adults may question if some students campus will not be the only common areas for student residents in have a “good maturity level” for co- thing residents of Georgia campus housing. In the published edi- ed suites.
Many students who sign up state will have to worry about in the torial, we also said while these main- for on-campus housing are freshmen near future.
In this week’s issue of The Signal,we covered University Housing’s new initiative to have more gender inclu- sive Housing (see pages 10-11). Under the new initiative, incoming residents would have the opportunity to have roommates or suitemates of any gen- der. All residents would be picked from a pool of students who checked off to volunteer to be included in the gender-inclusive selection process.
This has seemed like the next obvi- ous step for University Housing for a while now. The housing plans we have now are already considered “co-ed” be- cause the dorms already have male and female suites combined on one floor.
There is already so much other support for gender-inclusive facilities as well. In spring 2013, the Student Government Association passed a resolution to rename existing unisex bathrooms to gender-neutral rest- rooms. New gender neutral restrooms have not yet been put in place, but by having gender-inclusive dorms, the voices of LGBT supporters are begin- ning to grow louder.
Last fall semester we also examined tenance issues need to be addressed, University Housing has also shown to be proactive in keeping campus life active. In this way, University Housing seems to be gauging trends happening with students often.
University Housing’s initiative to have gender inclusive dorms for stu- dents shows they do listen to student voices.
In the article on the new dorm op- tion, students also said they have cho- sen to not live on campus due to the lack of gender-inclusive dorms. Ac- cording to some of these students, they faced much psychological and physical harm because of their gender identity.
CDC research shows that in schools with LGBT support groups and policies, students are less likely to suffer psychological distress due than schools without LGBT support groups.
Despite the approval of the new option for residents, there are still oth- er factors in play.
There will be varying perceptions of the new dorming option. Some will support it and some will be very anx- ious.
Parents, fellow peers and other (Patton Hall itself houses up to 325 freshmen residents).
For a lot of these students, rooming with a stranger on campus will be one of their first times encountering a “real world” situation. As nerve-wracking as it may be to think of your child room- ing with someone of another gender or if you’re feeling nerve-wracked from the possibility of the thought, Uni- versity Housing Director Marilyn De La Roche says they will be providing much information on the gender-in- clusive housing. They will be making sure people feel respected and com- fortable in their living situation.
And at the end of the day, the gender-inclusive housing option is a choice. Just simply having choices is a good practice in navigating life. Not only that, but it allows fellow peers to learn about diverse identities on Georgia State campus. Atlanta is ranked 4th in the largest densely-populated amount of LGBT-affiliated individuals, according to national statistics.
It’s about time we have gender-in- clusive housing options on campus. So tell us: To room or not to room?
