For Isaac Garcia, the housing process for next year didn’t go exactly as planned.

Garcia, a freshman television, radio and film major, had hoped to live in a single on Main Campus and figured he had a good housing lottery number. But by the time he was able to choose a room, all of the singles were already taken.

So instead of choosing to live with a randomly selected male roommate, Garcia opted to live with a close female friend through gender-neutral housing.

‘I thought the gender-neutral housing would be the easiest to pick up,’ Garcia said. ‘I didn’t want to be stuck with a random roommate. That was my worst nightmare.’

Thirty-five pairs of students at Syracuse University have chosen to live with a roommate of the opposite sex for the 2011-12 academic year, said Sara Miller, associate director of SU News Services, in an email. That number is six fewer pairs than the number of pairs that signed up last year.

Forty-one pairs signed up last April for gender-neutral housing, which was offered for the first time last fall as a pilot program, according to an April 14, 2010, article published in The Daily Orange. It was offered again for second-, third- and fourth-year students participating in the 2011-12 housing process.

Most students participating in gender-neutral housing will live on South Campus because two-bedroom apartments and two-person suites are the only options available during that phase of the housing process, Miller said.

In October, 34 pairs remained out of the original 41, and 33 of those remaining pairs lived on South Campus, according to an Oct. 6 article in The Daily Orange.

There are an estimated 55 universities in the United States that offer gender-neutral housing options, according to a March 2 CNN article.

At Rutgers University, three residence halls will be a part of the pilot gender-neutral housing program for the 2011-12 academic year, according to the article. The program is being implemented in hopes to promote a more inclusive environment after the suicide of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi last fall, according to the article. Clementi jumped off the George Washington Bridge last September after two fellow students allegedly taped a sexual encounter between him and another male student and posted it online.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center at SU was instrumental in making the gender-neutral housing option successful, Miller said.

‘We value our collaborations with Housing and Residence Life to create gender-neutral housing, and that they continue to offer it to students,’ said Chase Catalano, director for the LGBT Resource Center, in an email. ‘Syracuse University is one of a small number of college and universities that offers gender-neutral housing without requiring any form of questionnaire to sign up for the housing option. Having a gender-neutral housing option for all students, especially LGBTQ students, is part of creating a supportive and inclusive campus community.’

Some conservative campus groups are not outwardly supportive of gender-neutral housing. Paul Jewell, campus missionary of Campus Bible Fellowship, said in an email that a living situation involving two individuals of the opposite sex may lead to temptation, threatening the idea of keeping oneself pure for his or her eventual spouse. Campus Bible Fellowship is an evangelical Christian organization.

Zachary Weiss, secretary for College Republicans, said in an email that the gender-neutral housing option is a great opportunity to increase diverse housing options for students.

Some students may use the option to live with a best friend of the opposite sex, but others use the option so they can live with a romantic partner, Miller said. Students in need of conflict resolution regarding their housing situation can speak to the staff in the Office of Residence Life, Miller said.

Garcia, the freshman student who signed up for gender-neutral housing for fall 2011, said living with a close friend of the opposite sex is different from living with a romantic partner.

‘If they want to try gender-neutral, good for them, but I think that at some point, even friends get annoyed with each other, and that’s only going to put stress on their relationship,’ Garcia said.

Garcia and his future female roommate will live on South Campus in a two-bedroom apartment. He looks forward to having his own bedroom and said it’s a smart move from the school to offer gender-neutral housing.

‘In this day and age, I don’t think that males and females need to be separated,’ Garcia said. ‘Kids are smart. They’re not going to do things that will cause more stress in life or put themselves in places that will jeopardize their future.’

brvannos@syr.edu

Published on April 20, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Breanne: brvannos@syr.edu | @bre_vann