JARYN CROUSON
Georgetown University announced Monday it will begin offering “gender-inclusive” housing for the 2023-2024 academic year.
The traditionally Catholic university announced that students will now be able to room with the opposite sex if they “identify as transgender, non-binary, or gender non-co[n]forming” while those who are “welcoming and affirming” can choose to be a potential roommate. The announcement credits a referendum proposed by the Georgetown University Student Association that was influenced by campus LGBT groups and passed by students in April.
The referendum called on the university to overlook gender when making housing and roommate decisions for students.
“Georgetown has added a question to its housing process to provide a gender inclusive option. New students can indicate they identify as transgender, non-binary, or gender non-conforming individual seeking gender inclusive housing, or they are welcoming and affirming of LGBTQ individuals and wish to be considered as a potential roommate for students seeking gender inclusive housing,” the university’s residential living webpage states.
The referendum cited over 450 colleges and universities in the country that already have similar “gender-inclusive” housing options as justification for the policy.
“It is not fair that in the roommate search, first-year Georgetown students and upperclassmen looking for new roommates must choose between outing themselves to students they do not know or risk rooming with people who are not accepting of them. This puts students under significant and unnecessary emotional stress and even physical danger,” the referendum states. “Transgender and gender nonconforming students are some of the students most vulnerable to discrimination, violence, and sexual assault, yet, they are under-protected and undersupported on our campus.”
The April referendum passed with 91% support with nearly a third of the student body voting, according to Georgetown’s student newspaper, The Hoya.
Georgetown joins Macalester College, Haverford College and many others in offering “gender-inclusive” housing options. In 2023, Villanova University was forced to eliminate its “inclusive” housing options after facing backlash, according to Daily Caller reporting.
Georgetown University did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Laura Mitchell/Unsplash)
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