A Center for Sexuality and Gender Diversity.
More and more colleges and universities around the globe are providing welcoming programs for their LGBTQ students.
And the list just got bigger by one.
The University of Kansas has opened a new housing program to provide a safe space for LGBTQ students and maybe even allies as well.
The school has opened up space in a section of its Lewis Hall for non-gender binary students and other LGBTQ students who wish to join them.
Prior to this plan, the school had already provided a few rooms here and there in case-by-case situations to students who needed them. But, now administration has decided to stretch it out into a full wing of one of their halls.
Venessa Delgado, the coordinator for the University’s center for sexuality and gender diversity, spoke to KCTV about the project.
“There’s either men’s halls or women’s halls, men’s rooms or women’s rooms. So, we know there’s a lot of students who do not fit into those binary categories.”
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Yes, the rooms are primarily meant for transgender students and students who’re gender non-binary. That said, they are not turning people away at the door. Anyone can apply for a spot in one of the rooms and registration has a “no questions asked” policy.
In fact, there are already 20 students signed up for the wing and more students on a waiting list.
But going along with the goal of the rooms, there are protections that the school must enforce. For instance, students will need to sign an agreement to ensure that they will adhere to privacy and behavior rules. If they violate these rules, they will be taken off the premises.
Part of the agreement goes as follows:
- If I exhibit behavior that is contrary to the spirit of this agreement, I may be relocated to a different housing assignment on campus.
- It is my choice whether or not to communicate about the decision to live in a gender-inclusive housing option. KU Student Housing will not share this information with anyone other than the student contracted.
- I understand that my roommates and others in this community may not wish for others to know about their participation in gender-inclusive housing, and that I am expected to maintain the privacy of those in this community.
The University of Kansas is just one in what is now over 200 colleges and universities in the U.S. alone that provide LGBTQ dorms or non-binary dorming options.
h/t: NewNowNext
