Gender-neutral housing option postpones

Brian Farkas News Editor

The College’s Senior Officers have decided to postpone the implementation of a gender-neutral housing policy for the 2008-2009 academic year.

This decision follows a push by both the Residential Life Advisory Committee and the Committee on College Life (CCL), which endorsed the policy in January, and the Vassar Student Association (VSA) Council, who unanimously endorsed it at its Jan. 26 meeting.

Under the proposed policy, sophomores, juniors and seniors would be given the option of living together in dorms regardless of gender, while first-year students would continue to be assigned roommates of the same gender unless they submit a request to the Office of Residential Life.

“While there was consensus by the CCL to support a gender-neutral policy,” said Dean of the College Judy Jackson, “the Committee realized that the intent of the policy was generally not understood, and it we agreed that the wording of the policy needed to be clearer.”

“In order to address the confusion and misinformed objection to the spirit of the policy,” Jackson continued, “it would be wise to consider the reaction of a wider audience of Vassar constituents.”

A second concern among senior officers was the impact that the immediate implementation of the policy would have on room draw. The room draw process for 2008-2009 will already be complicated due to the upcoming renovations to Davison House, for which they will close the dorm.

“We’ll be tighter on housing than we’ve been in awhile,” said College President Catharine Bond Hill. “It seemed like a bad time to change a policy that might change the need for flexibility in our housing. We don’t know that this will be the effect, but it could be. So, we thought it made sense to first see what happens when we take Davison off-line,” she said.

Members of the VSA Executive Board met with Hill on Monday, Feb. 25 to discuss the decision.

“I think a major concern is that, what if a lot of couples decide to live with one another, and then break up?” said VSA Vice President for Student Life Morgan Warners ’08. “

And then we simply won’t have enough rooms to accommodate those students. We just won’t have enough singles.”

“The feeling was that this might not be the best time to start this policy, when we’re not really sure how many students will take advantage of it, and if for the right reasons,” Warners continued.

Warners hopes that the Office of Residential Life will deal with requests for gender-neutral housing on a case-by-case basis.

“We might have to use some sort of application system,” he said at the Feb. 24 VSA Council meeting.

“This is problematic in its own right, since students will have to actively identify themselves as not fitting into some preconceived norm through a personal statement or interview. But this might be the best option for next year, at least.”

Both administrators and VSA Executive Board members felt that the policy will ultimately succeed. “I do suspect that the policy, once effectively worded, eventually will be implemented,” said Jackson.

“But because of the controversy and the need to anticipate and address the ill-understanding by current and prospective students, parents, concerned alumnae/i, and the wider academic community, I do agree that it is wise to pay attention to the concerns of stakeholders,” Jackson continued.

“I think that the broadest support for the policy will be important to its success and bode better for the policy’s ultimate implementation.”