Editorial: Pitt should go gender neutral

Bandwagons get a bad rap. Literary devices and cultural sages often advise you to hesitate… Bandwagons get a bad rap. Literary devices and cultural sages often advise you to hesitate before joining the hottest trend. Although it’s true that certain bandwagon-jumping has historically led to devastating consequences — think: subprime mortgage agreements in 2005 — popularity shouldn’t always prompt suspicion.

This is especially true when it comes to gender-neutral housing, or allowing students of different sexes and gender identities to live together on campus. Each year sees another bundle of major universities warming up to the idea, and gender-neutral housing might not be the bandwagon for Pitt to shy away from.

Joining many other institutions across the country, Rutgers University, the largest institution of higher education in New Jersey, announced this week that it will offer gender-neutral housing in three on-campus residence halls next fall, according to the Rutgers student newspaper the Daily Targum.

As part of the pilot program, students will be able to live in the selected dorms regardless of the gender of the parties involved, as long as they choose specific roommates, the article reports. The Targum quoted executive director of residence life Joan Carbone as saying that the measure could eliminate potential fear among LGBT students that they’d be placed with roommates who don’t accept them.

If the program proves successful, Rutgers will join a host of other U.S. colleges — “hundreds,” according to the Targum article — that have recently allowed some form of gender-neutral housing. The list includes Dartmouth College, the University of Chicago, the University of Pennsylvania, Brandeis University, the University of Southern Maine and, most recently, George Washington University.

According to Pitt’s Rainbow Alliance, Pitt has not yet experienced a groundswell of student support for gender-neutral housing, let alone substantial public debate over the issue. But in light of Rutgers and others adopting new policies, the issue could quickly hit our campus. If it does, we of course want to hope for the right outcome.

Pitt should go gender-neutral.

We’re not trying to inflame or disrupt. We’re only trying to help Pitt students. Since the latter task happens also to be included in Residence Life’s job description, we hope director Shawn Brooks agrees with us about gender-neutral housing. Brooks’ office directed questions to University spokespeople, who did not provide answers after receiving several calls and e-mails over the course of two days.

The prospect of letting men and women dorm together might seem radical, but in practice it’s nothing to be afraid of. Denise Nelson, director of Residence Life at the University of Southern Maine, agrees. After having years to evaluate the broad gender-neutral housing program inaugurated in 2004, Nelson said, “It’s a none-issue for us. It’s not a big deal for anybody.”

Moreover, a gender-neutral housing program gives students a more accurate taste of reality. With USM’s new policy, “we were finally providing an option that students were having off campus, on campus. Landlords don’t care, why should we?” Nelson said.

But more importantly, making Pitt’s housing policy gender-neutral would improve students’ lives. James Weaver, the president of Pitt’s Rainbow Alliance, said a revised housing policy would not just help LGBT students: “It really just benefits pretty much everyone, because it gives them the option to live with people they know they can get along with.”

If the University finds students with relevant needs down the road, perhaps gender-neutral housing could at least be piloted in select dorms, à la Rutgers. If implemented, we doubt this will be a bandwagon Pitt would want to jump off.