A campus proposal that would have established a gender-neutral housing option at the University has been rejected by Chancellor Holden Thorp.
In a memo today to Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Winston Crisp, Thorp cited potential concerns from individuals outside the University.
“While there has been a great deal of discussion about the proposal on campus, my concern is that we haven’t adequately explained it to our many stakeholders off campus,” Thorp wrote.
The plan’s advocates, who worked to gain support throughout the fall, have said the proposal is an issue of health and safety primarily for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community.
In the memo, Thorp cited that only three schools in North Carolina, none of which are in the UNC-system, have gender-neutral housing options.
“I think we need to take the time to explain the proposal for mixed-gender housing and to have a broader conversation about it,” he wrote.
Proponents of the plan aimed to have the option ready for implementation in the fall.
