Editorial: Students shut out of University information

As you probably know, Pitt isn’t the most progressive school on the block. As you probably know, Pitt isn’t the most progressive school on the block.

Yesterday, The Pitt News reported that the University’s housing policy does not allow for same-sex or gender-neutral rooming assignments. Several colleges, such as Rutgers University and Carnegie Mellon University, have implemented policies that allow for these assignments to better accommodate transgender students who seek housing with the genders with which they identify.

Having a traditional policy is one thing. Neglecting to explain one’s reasoning is another.

When The Pitt News sought answers, it was put in contact with spokesman John Fedele, who declined to let us in on the logic behind the standing housing policy.

Pitt consistently demonstrates its lack of transparency and fails to pull the veil off its opaque practices. Essentially, it is disrespecting its students, not reinforcing the skills it pretends to value.

The Outside the Classroom Curriculum, Pitt’s own bundle of pseudo-academic joy, advocates the education of the whole student. According to its website, “every graduate … should leave the University with four key attributes: communications skills, a sense of motivation, a sense of responsibility and a sense of self.”

Is it not hypocritical that Pitt stresses the importance of communications skills but continually fails to answer students’ questions? Last month, we wrote an editorial that condemned the University’s lack of communication with club sports teams about the use of sports facilities. Pitt didn’t give an answer then, either.

As for a sense of self: Pitt has quite the chutzpah to value something like that while it pigeonholes transgender students into designated gender assignments. And we’re supposed to leave here with a sense of individuality while we’re all treated the same way.

And motivation and responsibility? Once Pitt develops these qualities and can muster up the impetus for responsibly and effectively communicate with its students, maybe it can rightfully patronize us with what is currently such a duplicitous guideline to post-graduation success.

It’s not possible that a school can serve its students without addressing something like gender-neutral housing — which, by the way, has been a hot topic for decades. It isn’t something iffy that just came into conversation last year. But this is not to say there is a strictly right or wrong policy — we just want answers.

It seems as though Pitt wants its students to be seen on the new-student tours — not heard. We are not a part of the University’s decision making, even though most of its policies — especially housing — directly affect us.

Pitt underestimates us. It believes we aren’t interested in knowing answers and critiquing its policies. As the press, this is our job description, and we are failing you as your newspaper if we don’t give you the information you need to know.

As for the reasoning behind Pitt’s housing policy and why it adheres so staunchly to heteronormative practices, we do not yet know. And we wish we could answer your questions. But for now, we just have to keep prying.

Eventually something will give way.