The road to implementing gender-neutral housing at UNC has been arduous — but now that a pilot program has been set for the fall, only five students have applied so far.
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Winston Crisp recently approved the logistics for the pilot program, which will involve 32 available spaces on campus in both apartment and suite style residence halls.
The first application deadline, for returning students, was Friday.
But Assistant Director of Housing and Residential Education Rick Bradley said this is only a snapshot of the total amount of students who may apply, since the number does not account for incoming freshmen.
“Today is only measuring for current students,” he said on Friday. “There were eight spaces reserved in Craige North, which tends to be a request from first-year students.”
He said the pilot program will help determine demand, and they will base future decisions for gender-neutral housing on the success of the program.
“Many universities haven’t seen high demand in the first year offered — it tends to grow year after year as awareness is out there that UNC-Chapel Hill offers gender neutral housing,” Bradley said.
“I also just want to say that I think one of the big steps in this is the just the fact that we are offering it,” Bradley said.
Junior Kevin Claybren, student coordinator for the Gender Non-Specific Housing Coalition, believes the program will grow substantially after the pilot year.
