Newfoundland and Labrador’s Memorial University is planning to offer gender inclusive housing arrangements after receiving feedback from students.
Memorial has announced its Burton’s Pond residence will become gender inclusive, allowing students of differing genders to share the apartment-style residences.
Brittany Lennox, the Memorial Students’ Union (MSU) representative for the building, said student demand brought about the change.
“Many people told me that they wanted their homes to become gender inclusive,” Lennox said in an email. “From there, it was easy: we worked with the Residence Council to propose the idea to the Office of Student Residences, and everyone agreed that this was an important change for the university.”
Students will still have the opportunity to live in single-gender residences if they choose, but the option is present for gender non-conforming students, or students looking for alternate living arrangements.
“This change will greatly impact the lives of the trans* community on campus. It creates a safer space for those folks to live without having to identify their gender,” she said.
Lennox highlighted the difference between “gender-neutral” and “gender-inclusive,” an important difference when discussing gender identity.
“They are actually ‘gender-inclusive’ residences! The word ‘neutral’ implies that gender doesn’t matter. Someone’s gender identity is important: these residences include all people,” Lennox said.
Burton’s Pond is a series of apartment buildings, each home to about 125 students, according to Memorial’s website. The site describes the residences as being ideal for “older, more independent students.”
The change was proposed by the students’ union and approved by the school’s student housing servies.
“Everyone was in immediate agreement that any changes we can make to encourage diversity should, and will, be done for students,” Lennox said.
Several Canadian universities already have gender-neutral housing policies, including the University of Ottawa and the University of Toronto.
Carleton University does not have a specific gender-neutral housing policy. Laura Storey, housing director, said the university accommodates students on an individual basis.
“While we don’t have a specific gender-neutral policy, we actually try to work with each student individually, one on one, about what their needs are,” Storey said. “We have had many students whose gender preferences have not been part of the binary of male-female, and we have accommodated them on a case-by-case basis based on their needs.”
Storey said single rooms and suites in Leeds house, which can be mixed gender, are both options for gender non-conforming students.
Carleton is not currently working on developing an official gender-inclusive policy.
“While we don’t have anything in the works right now, it’s definitely something that we can look at,” Storey said.
Overall, Lennox said this has become a positive starting point for change in the Memorial community.
“The change also sparks positive discussion about trans* issues as well, something that is not talked about in the media enough. Overall, this has been a massive win for the Students’ Union, Memorial University, and the community,” Lennox said.
