TO THE EDITOR:
On Nov. 14, 2012, the UNC-CH Board of Trustees made history by taking a stand in support of safety, inclusion and accessibility.
Understanding the important connection between student safety and academic success, they unanimously passed a resolution in support of the creation of a gender nonspecific housing option on campus.
However, one year after receiving the affirmation required to create this pilot program, gender nonspecific housing is still not an option on our campus, nor at any other UNC-system school.
On Aug. 9, 2013, the Board of Governors voted to approve a policy stating that “the constituent institutions shall not assign members of the opposite sex to any institutionally owned and operated dormitory room, dormitory suite or campus apartment unless the students are siblings, parent and child or they are legally married.”
The needs of students across the UNC system were ignored and their voices silenced. As such, the problem persists!
With new Chancellor Carol Folt, new UNC-CH Board of Trustees members, a new student body president and new students this year, we must prioritize and address the issue of discrimination and harassment based on marginalized identities.
This will require us to come together, honoring our differences but working in solidarity to organize against the systems of inequality that limit opportunities and access to a safe and inclusive campus.
Kevin Claybren ’14
Women’s and gender studies
