Georgetown U. offers gender-neutral housing to all incoming students

Gender-neutral housing will now be available at Georgetown University for first-year students next fall, thanks to a pilot program at a Jesuit school in Washington, D.C.

TThe Georgetown University Student Association (GUSA) announced on Instagram that starting this fall, with the arrival of the Class of 2028, students’ Housing Preferences Survey will ask about interest in gender-inclusive housing.

Student newspaper Hoya reported, “The university is currently working with students who identify as transgender, non-binary or gender non-conforming to find housing options on a case-by-case basis.” However, with the new pilot program, students will be able to indicate their need or desire for gender-inclusive housing through Georgetown’s roommate matching system, known as the Campus Roommate Matching System (CHARMS).

The change primarily affects incoming first-year students, as current students have already completed housing prior to the start of the program. However, the university intends to include a similar question on all undergraduate housing surveys in the next housing selection cycle.

Adding gender-neutral housing solutions from students like GUSA President Jaden Cobb working closely with university administrators to advance gender-inclusive housing policies. In April, a student referendum broadly encouraged Georgetown administrators to change the way they treat gender identity in housing. According to Hoya: “91.2% of participating students voted in favor of the university establishing “comprehensive gender-inclusive housing,” with 31.2% of students voting.”

“This is an important moment for the campus and for marginalized communities, our LGBTQ+ community… The vision to truly make Georgetown the inclusive campus that students voted for in the referendum has finally come true,” Cobb said. “This is a project that has been decades in the making and has been needed for decades.”

The president of the student government indicated that supporting various university organizations is crucial to the success of the new policy, including “GU Pride, a student organization working to support LGBTQ+ students; GU Queer People of Color (QPOC), a student organization for LGBTQ+ students of color; and the LGBTQ Resource Center, a center that supports Georgetown’s LGBTQ+ community through advocacy and outreach.”

said GU Pride Director of Support, Liam Moynihan Hoya that they have previously experienced housing discrimination at Georgetown and hope that continued student activism will make the Georgetown campus truly gender inclusive:

“I am excited, tired and optimistic,” they said. “I think as students we have a lot of work to do to ensure that the university continues to work hard to deliver on its commitments and that the university continues to hear our voices as it shapes the policies that will shape our lives.”

Both Cobb and Moynihan agree that student organizations will need to continue to work closely with the university administration to create an atmosphere on campus that is welcoming to all.

This was announced by the university’s spokesman Hoya that this new housing process is consistent with the University’s goal of supporting and welcoming all students, stating:

“Georgetown University is committed to creating an inclusive, safe and welcoming campus for all members of our community, regardless of gender and sexual identity…Students have the right to be placed in housing consistent with their gender identity.”

—Phoebe Carstens (they/them), New Ways Ministry, June 27, 2024

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