In time for this year's housing lottery, the Office of Residential Life is starting a pilot program that will designate about a third of non-freshman double rooms gender-neutral.
Previously only available in upper-class suites and apartments, the gender-neutral policy has been expanded in response to student requests and the research of various advisory committees.
The greatest demand for gender-neutral options has come from rising sophomores, said Russell Carey '91 MA'06, interim vice president for campus life and student services. Because the majority of Brown's housing is composed of traditional doubles, the small number of suites and apartments is usually taken by the time rising sophomores can choose in the lottery. Most of the class is blocked out from mixed-gender room combinations, he said.
In the new pilot program, double rooms in Marcy House, Goddard House, Harkness House, Caswell Hall, New Pembroke #1 and New Pembroke #2 will have the option of being gender-neutral.
Carey said the specific buildings were chosen because they are spread across campus so no one area can be physically identified as gender-neutral and so students won't be restricted to a certain part of campus if they want to live in a gender-neutral room.
The new policy is meant to "enhance students' options," said Richard Bova, senior associate dean for Residential Life. "It will create less stress for mixed groups and greater flexibility in making choices."
Bova said any students who have already submitted their lottery groups will be contacted about the new policy and will have the opportunity to alter their group if they would like.
The new policy will be publicized by noon today on the Campus Life and Student Services Web site.
Residential Council Chair Alexander Dean '08 said the new policy will make the housing lottery less stressful.
"Anything that will give people more options, comfort and flexibility will make (the) lottery easier," he said.
Dean said the new policy "should provide an opportunity for most anyone who wants it and should be something that makes very few people upset."
Carey said he would like to make it clear that gender-neutral housing is a choice - "No one will be forced to live in an environment they're not comfortable with."
Student surveys conducted last spring demonstrated that students generally support and respect issues of gender, regardless of their personal feelings, he said.
"These supplemental things are accessible to everyone," said Katie Lamb '10, a member of the gender-neutral housing working group. "But they don't infringe on the things we already have."
The group, comprised of administrators and students, has been working to make gender-neutral housing available since 2003.
"It's an issue that has been bounced around a lot, pushed back into different committees," Lamb said. "It's really only this year that things have been put in motion in a practical way."
Carey said Bova and Kelly Garrett, coordinator of the LGBTQ Resource Center, have been researching gender-neutral housing at peer institutions and generating ideas for implementation at Brown since last year.
Last spring, ResCouncil unanimously passed a gender-neutral housing proposal. James Reed '09, chair of ResCouncil's policy subcommittee, said the work done by the gender-neutral housing working group "helped shape the discussion." For the last three years, the head of ResCouncil has sat on the working group to keep in touch with the concerns of proponents.
Reed said it's taken a while to have the policy approved, but that he's happy with it.
"Hopefully they'll be able to roll it out across campus," he said.
Though those working on the policy have tried to make options particularly available for sophomores, Reed said the new policy "will really open up choices for everybody."
Various other groups and committees have come into play this semester, Carey said. Garrett heads the LGBTQ subcommittee of the Diversity Advisory Board, which made recommendations to the board on gender-neutral housing.
The Campus Life Advisory Board was also consulted, and the topic was then brought before the Corporation Campus Life Committee when it met in late February.
Carey said he expects minimal reaction from individuals outside the community, consistent with similar changes, such as implementing gender-neutral bathrooms. For example, the University of Pennsylvania recieved little negative reaction when it expanded its gender-neutral policy, he said.
Response from the various groups consulted on this topic has been "favorable and supportive," Carey said.
Josh Teitelbaum '08, a member of the working group, said he appreciates the progress that has been made.
"This is a big step," he said. "A lot of change has happened since 2003. Gender-neutral was scary then, but now it's more commonplace."
But Teitelbaum said he worries about the campus's most "vulnerable" residents - first-years. Returning students are in a better position to advocate for themselves than new students who are afraid to cause trouble and do not know who to ask for help, he said.
Carey said gender-neutral housing for new students is "some time off," but administrators are trying to make the housing process less intimidating for incoming first-years who may not feel comfortable with the traditional options.
Margaret Klawunn, associate vice president of campus life and dean for student life, said the gender-neutral housing working group has helped revise the housing form for incoming freshmen to more clearly present them with options, she said.
The core principle of the first-year housing experience is that there are no choices involved, Carey said. Housing for upper-class students already offers choice, he said, including who they live with and where they live. Gender-neutral housing simply gives them another option.
