The Housing Center Student Association recently has begun discussions on implementing legislation for gender-neutral housing.
Gender-neutral housing, unlike coed housing, which allows males and females to live on the same floor, would make it acceptable for those of different genders to room together. Gender-neutral housing is already in affect at universities and colleges around the country like Rutgers University, Ramapo College and Montclair State University. It is designed as an option to make more comfortable students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer.
The option has been forcefully pushed this year by Students for a Democratic Society and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Friends student group, and it has been seconded by many in the HCSA.
I personally have my reservations about gender-neutral housing. I can’t help but wonder if those who opted to participate would be criticized by their fellow students. I commend the HCSA and the student groups for pushing such a “radical” piece of legislation and having the guts to see a problem and do something about it.
But I am skeptical of whether it will work in the dominantly republican state of Oklahoma.
Students should not be ostracized by their peers and should feel free to be themselves at all times. But would gender-neutral housing help or hinder that?
Some people may even use this as a way to “shack up” with their significant other. Is that really appropriate when living on campus? I may be seen as “square” or what have you, but I personally don’t see anything wrong with the current system of living. We all have to deal with the annoying people who come in drunk at 3 a.m., but that’s what college is about: learning to deal with the annoying things and dealing with people. By isolating the GLBT students, we completely lose out on opportunities to learn from them. People who are ignorant of GLBT struggles will be forever left in the dark. Gender-neutral housing would be like a crutch, allowing other students to push the GLBT community into a dorm and leave them there.
Instead of gender-neutral housing, perhaps we should be pushing for sensitivity training or something of that nature. Most students are curious but don’t really know who to ask. We need to teach one another, though. We need to learn about different lifestyles. We need to learn to live with each other.
The HCSA, instead of including students in such life-altering legislation, have kept somewhat tight lipped about it. Many students, when asked about gender-neutral housing, either don’t know what it is or don’t know it is being discussed here at OU. Perhaps students aren’t as involved as they should be, but many don’t even know when and where the HCSA meets. General Council is held on Mondays at 7 p.m. in the conference room of Couch Center. I only found the website by googling the OU HCSA. Where are the poster advertising meetings? Students should be informed about the HCSA so that they can participate, and their voices can be heard.
I’m hoping that people will start to be interested in OU HCSA. It’s your housing, and you have to live there — you should get some say.
Delaney Harness is a University College freshman.
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eerucker 8 months ago
While dissenting voices are necessary and welcome in the discussion of any issue, the author's obviously cursory research on genderneutral housing is glaringly obvious to those who have been involved.
The author does not seem to have read the SDS/GLBTF proposal (in which her main concerns are addressed) even though the first results for several variations of "OU Students for a Democratic Society" bring up our wordpress blog where the proposal has been posted for one day short of year.
The most egregious of this article's flaws is the statement that "college is about learning to deal with the annoying things and learning to deal with people". Harassment and assault - which disproportionately effect the LGBTQIA community - are not merely "annoying things". They are life and death matters for too many of us.
lsexton 8 months ago
HCSA is actually incredibly open about its meeting times. Center RSA meetings are actively promoted at RA meetings at the beginning of the year, and General Council representatives from each center are chosen from each RSA's membership. Additionally, when HCSA considers controversial legislation, it is always incredibly conscientious about speaking to and surveying OU's housing residents; "tight-lipped" is never a word which could describe HCSA in such circumstances. In this case, though, the extent of HCSA's involvement in the gender neutral housing question thus far has included members of SDS and GLBTF bringing their proposal to General Council to ask for HCSA's support. There is no legislation being considered by General Council at this time, and I am sure that the Council will pursue much more discussion, both during its meetings and with as many members of the housing community as possible, before it takes any sort of official stance on the topic.
cacremin 8 months ago
Three things:
1.) You "personally don’t see anything wrong with the current system of living" presumably because you've never been tortured for your orientation or gender identity. This is not a valid or relevant point.
2.) If a couple does decide to "shack up" why should that be your business?
3.) You keep using the word "radical" without explaining why that's the case. I see nothing even vaguely "radical" about this legislation and your column has done nothing to convince me otherwise.
sportsfan31 8 months ago
This article is insensitive. Someone experiencing harassment or prejudice shouldn't have to just "deal with it".
Also, this policy does not completely isolate GLBT students, it just makes it so they are not forced to live with someone they are uncomfortable with. There are plenty of opportunities to interact with the broader campus outside of your dorm room.
Nolan_Kraszkiewicz 8 months ago
If you are not GLBT I don'[t think it's your call. This decision for the most part is in consideration for their requests. You are a "square." Who are you to say what is or isn't appropriate in regards to a persons sexual behavior whether or not they are living on campus? If you are not a direct participant in said acts, mind your own business. So quit trying to push your conservative mindset on people who are completely capable of making decisions on their own.
Jwer 8 months ago
I'm glad there are still columnists that completely miss the point! First of all, your argument about people shacking up is ridiculous. The university doesn't have rules against doing the dirty in your dorm room anyway. Not to mention your argument leaves out GLBT students who can already do this, doesn't it? People are capable of living together without having sex. And the idea of gender neutral housing isn't to separate the lgbt community, its to better incorporate it. I lived on campus my freshman year (like you HAVE TO [barring special circumstances]). Roommate 1: straight boy uncomfortable with gay roommate. Roommate 2: gay boy. That's a far cry better, obviously, but posed it's own set of problems. Sophomore year I lived in the dorms by myself, WAY better, WAY more expensive. The last two years I've been living with two girls which has turned out fantastically and we just have typical roommate issues. Did I mention one's straight? Gender neutral isn't code for lgbt. It's code for "I don't care the sex of the person I live with" the proposal is also opt in. The assumption is that people who are opting in are going to be more likely to be comfortable with an lgbt roommate than the population at large. Sensitivity training is fantastic. Programs like sooner ally have their place but when it comes to living with someone, especially the forced cohabitation of freshman year, there has to be something.
College is about learning to deal with annoying things and people. That much we agree on. But it should be a safe and comfortable place to do it.
Jaco99 8 months ago
It's just frustrating to see such a promising plan encountering these difficulties. You really can make this campus a better place, but only if you can efficiently disseminate your plan amongst the students. Once they get it, then I think that a majority will support it. And if a majority supports it, then you have more leverage when dealing with a recalcitrant administration. At worst, your plan will result in a slight waste of campus housing resources (perhaps not enough people will sign up). At best, you will not only provide a safe place for people who are harassed, you will not only help push this campus forwards to equality, but you will save lives. The world is tilting in your favor; properly inform your fellow students so that they will, on their own accord, follow the curve.
Jaco99 8 months ago
OK, this is going to be long....
ATTENTION SDS AND GLBTF: Your problems stem from the fact that the general student body is not sufficiently informed about your proposal!
Most of the above comments accurately point out the fact that this author seems to have little knowledge of what it is that you want to do. You should assume that this is relatively reflective of the student body at large. However, is this her (or the students') fault, or yours?
Seriously, you have a wonderful proposal that could help many people, and the general student body would be in favor of this proposal if it had the plain, simple facts of what you want to do. However, you haven't done the best job of letting the students know the precise details of your plan.
Look at some of the author's criticisms: "Students should not be ostracized by their peers and should feel free to be themselves at all times. But would gender-neutral housing help or hinder that?"
Last semester a member of SDS published a very down-to-earth, easy to read explanation of what happened during the lead-up to the protest advocating the reform of OU's sexual assault policy. This was a very effective way of disseminating information amongst the general OU public. YOU NEED TO DO THIS AGAIN!!! But this time, explain in a clear and concise manner your exact plans for gender-neutral housing. Do you want the entire student body to adopt gender neutral housing, or do you just want to create a gender-neutral floor? Would this housing be mandatory or voluntary? How many people should we expect to participate (1,000? 100? 10?)- the smaller the number, the less obtrusive the implementation and the better your case. Do not use a complicated, esoteric vocabulary. Do not argue. Do not post another link to your bloody proposal (not very many people will read this)- simply state the facts of what you want to do in an easy to understand, objective manner.
Jaco99 8 months ago
To members of SDS and GLBTF- how many times have the arguments that you have had with others regarding gender-neutral housing devolved into the act of simply explaining the facts of what you want to do to the other party? If they do not understand exactly what you want to do, this is not their fault but is instead yours, and you need to fix this.
If you can make it so that most of the students walking around the south oval can explain your plan in 5 sentences or less, I think that it is likely that you will win campus-wide student support. Your goal should be to permeate the campus with so much information that even Joe Frat and Jane Sorority know the basics of what you want to do.
A commenter above chastised the author for not reading the SDS/GLBTF proposal, saying
"The author does not seem to have read the SDS/GLBTF proposal (in which her main concerns are addressed) even though the first results for several variations of "OU Students for a Democratic Society" bring up our wordpress blog where the proposal has been posted for one day short of year."
This is a very accurate criticism of the author, but as a general strategy you cannot assume that most students will read your proposal (they will not). They will also not listen to the more nuanced parts of your plan. So in this situation, you need to bring the mountain to Mohammed. Write fact-based editorials that explain your plan and keep disseminating this information until the OU student body is sick and tired of hearing again and again the same facts that they have heard before (AGH! not another gender-neutral editorial! I already know all of this information!) Go out on the South Oval and pass out pamphlets that explain what you want to do in a few simple bullet points. Find out what parts of your plan are generating the most confusion and get the correct information out to the student body. Information is your ally. Use it.
The10E 8 months ago
In regards to the statement that "instead of gender-neutral housing, perhaps we should be pushing for sensitivity training or something of that nature," it should be pointed out that numerous programs of this nature exist on OU's campus. Organizations such as the Women's Outreach Center, GLBTF, and more all advocate for education on such topics. One specific program students can look into is "Sooner Ally," a program that not only educates students about GLBTF issues and lifestyles, but seeks to promote a more accepting atmosphere on campus for all students. Educational resources are out there: students just need to seek them out. You can search any of those organization's names on the OU website to find more information.
Jaco99 8 months ago
And I'm sorry, but to the author of the column:
"We all have to deal with the annoying people who come in drunk at 3 a.m., but that’s what college is about: learning to deal with the annoying things and dealing with people."
Would you say this to a black student assigned to live with a racist white student who had a habit of threatening black people or of beating them up? You seem like a nice person. So No. No. No you would not.
RIF 8 months ago
Hi, I heard about this article from someone else. You folks should really advertise better, because when I googled "Oklahoma Daily" it was the first result. I haven't seen any flyers or information about the OU Daily because when I was presented with the information, I probably forgot that bit.
This housing issue is not new to the university, and was only just recently this year that HCSA was contacted to weigh in their opinion on this issue in hopes that it would help convince Mr. Boren. He has expressed an opinion you have, which is that, regardless of whether or not this could be a good idea or that it has worked well at Tulsa University, that Oklahoma just isn't ready to be accepting.
This lack of acceptance is why the notion of gender neutral housing got started. As you put it, it is in 'affect' at several universities across the country, but I feel as if you ought to have included the reason it was implemented- in the spirit of fairness. It was implemented at Rutgers University shortly after the suicide of one Tyler Clementi, who had requested emergency room transfers and was denied each time. The reason for these requests is that he was roomed with an individual who, to use similar phrasing as in your article, held Republican viewpoints.
So, to whom does this policy have a "life-altering" effect? The way this would likely be an opt-in feature like the co-ed floors have, in addition to providing readily accessible information as to what gender neutral housing is (you might need to use a computer). Residents should know what they are getting into whenever they sign up. So, however it effects people who participate, they signed up for it. Do you honestly care if I use my dorm room as a brothel? Any resident with a single room has the same ability- and all residents should, presumably, have both a sock and a doorknob. I am sure that if you feel strongly enough about it, you could push for legislation to ban all males from female residence halls and vice versa.
This idea of shacking up does present a problem- but not that it could occur, rather, that it would detract from the intent behind gender neutral housing, which is to provide a safe and accepting atmosphere.
I would encourage those who have legitimate critiques on the subject to get involved. The a representative from the LGBTQ organization would probably be able to provide information on the status of the issue, and how one could help, hinder, or simply find more about. Apparently it is Wednesdays, seven, in the union room (2nd floor).
But, if my opinion on the matter was not made readily apparent by now, as a student I wholeheartedly support the concept of gender neutral housing. If it is implemented, I will do my best to ensure that the program is a success- and will select the floor as one of my preferences- assuming I would not be taking a spot that would have been given to someone more... qualified...