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Housing and Residence Life takes feedback from students to improve the random room selection process. 

Gender-neutral housing will expand to new locations in five residence halls

Housing and Residence Life will add 27 living spaces to its gender-neutral housing room selection options for the 2018-19 academic year. 

The new locations will be spread across the greens in Boyd, Bromley, Bryan, Pickering and Sowle halls. Those are pilot locations to see how well they accommodate students’ needs, Johnna Matulja, associate director for Marketing and Business Operations for Housing and Residence Life, said. 

Housing and Residence Life worked closely with the LGBTQA Affairs Commission in Student Senate to address the needs of students interested in gender-neutral housing. 

The gender-neutral housing program began in 2011 with 17 students living in Smith House on South Green. It has since expanded to 29 students in the seven years since its creation, not including students who reached out individually for gender-neutral housing assignments. 

The program is expanding based on feedback from Student Senate representatives and an increase in requests from students interested in the program. Requests for gender-neutral housing outside of Smith House have also increased, Matulja said. 

Surveys showed students were becoming increasingly unhappy with the location of gender-neutral housing, Briahna Shaniuk, LGBTQA Affairs commissioner in Student Senate, said. 

“What we should really have as a vision as an institution is to have gender neutral housing on all the greens,” Vice President for Student Affairs Jason Pina said. “We don’t have demand that forces us to give all these new bed spaces because we have so many people who want gender-neutral housing. But I also feel like if we give some diversity to housing types and housing locations, maybe you will have more demand.” 

Shaniuk said senate will consider adding new living spaces in the future, depending on the results of the pilot program. 

“That being said, if they don't work, or if students are looking to gain more out of their living experience, then we will definitely push for further (gender-neutral housing),” Shaniuk said in an email. “We are meant to be the voice of the students in the Ohio University community, and we will never stop advocating for the needs of all students, whatever they may be.”

B Irwin, a resident assistant in Smith House, said putting gender-neutral housing in non-gender-neutral specific residence halls could leave LGBT students vulnerable to hate crimes. They said Smith House’s private location is ideal for gender-neutral housing compared to more popular residence halls.

“Housing is doing a good job with trying to make things inclusive and making residence halls inclusive for everyone,” Irwin said. “(Smith House’s) location can be a problem because it’s the farthest from campus and it’s really hard to get to, but I think the location has its advantages because it’s sheltered.”

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