All-Gender Housing

Residence Life strives to create safe and welcoming communities where all students are respected and included.

The differences between sex and gender:

• Sex is a multidimensional biological construct based on anatomy, physiology, genetics, and hormones. (These components are sometimes referred to together as “sex traits.”) As is common across health research communities, NIH usually categorizes sex as male or female, although variations do occur.A person’s gender identity (e.g., woman, man, trans man, gender-diverse, nonbinary) is self-identified, may change throughout their life, and may or may not correspond to a society’s cultural expectations based on their biological sex traits.(Source: https://orwh.od.nih.gov/sex-gender)

We recognize that traditional housing options do not meet all students' needs, in particular regarding a student's gender identity or gender expression. Residence Life offers the following housing options:

• Single-Gender: A floor designated for students of the same gender,
  where rooms are shared by roommates of the same gender.
• Mixed-Gender: A floor designated for students of any gender,
  where rooms are shared by roommates of the same gender.
• All-Gender: A floor designated for students of any gender,
  where rooms are shared by roommates of any gender.

Incoming Students

Incoming students are able to self-identify their gender identity during the admission process. Residence Life uses that information along with each student's housing preference form to place students on single-gender or mixed-gender floors. Mixed-gender floors for first year students are located in the following buildings:

• Dows Hall
• Pauley-Rorem Hall
• Pfeiffer Hall
• Tarr Hall

Students interested in an all-gender room should contact their Admission counselor or contact Residence Life to explore options.

Upperclass Students

Upperclass students are able to self-identify their gender with the Registrar's Office. This is helpful so their records are accurate and up to date. Students are not guaranteed an all-gender room in a particular building. Students must follow all lottery procedures for each building and must meet all eligibility requirements as detailed on each lottery page. Refer to our important dates for specific housing selection deadlines. 

Upperclass students may select an all-gender room in one of the following buildings:

• Merner Hall (2nd, 3rd and 4th floors only)
• Olin Hall (1st and 3rd floors only)
• Pfeiffer Hall (1st and 2nd floors only)
• Russell Hall
• Wilch Apartments
• Summer Housing Notice
  • Regardless of the building selected for summer housing, all-gender options will be available.

Romantic Relationships

Housing options in campus-owned residence halls, houses and apartments are not intended for romantic couples. Students are not required to disclose their reason for requesting a specific roommate, however, Residence Life does not recommend that romantic partners, regardless of gender identity, choose to live together. The office historically witnesses a high conflict rate with all-gender romantic rooms that result in volatile voluntary room moves later in the semester.