TO THE EDITOR:
The recent buzz about gender-neutral housing is not so recent.
Last semester, a group of Carolina students met to discuss the possibility of ensuring an environment of greater inclusivity on our campus. Thus, the UNC gender-neutral housing movement blossomed.
Gender non-specific housing gives students the liberty to live with whoever they choose regardless of biological gender.
This is an opt-in program. No student would be forced to live with someone of a different gender.
This is not just an LGBT issue.
Gender-neutral housing would allow care providers attending to students of the opposite gender facing disabilities to live with that student. Brothers and sisters, who would rather live with each other than face the peculiarities that sometimes result from random roommates, could share a room. Close friends of the opposite gender could likewise share living spaces.
Fortunately for the ongoing budget issues, gender-neutral housing would not cost UNC any extra funds. There is no cost difference between having a male and female living together versus two members of the same gender.
Kevin Claybren
Sophomore
Latin American Studies, Psychology
