Trevor Rayhons

Professor Patricia Olthoff-Blank

COMM DM 2755

13 December 2016

Assignment #9: Enterprise Story

In a world of constant change, current college students are finding themselves growing up

in a culture that is more accepting than ever before when it comes to prominent social issues.

One topic that has risen on the majority of college campuses and now at the University of

Northern Iowa (UNI) is gender-inclusive bathrooms and on-campus housing. The Department of

Residence at UNI has decided that beginning in the 2017-18 academic year, they will be offering

gender-inclusive housing in Noehren Hall and Lawther Hall. Brennan Suen, Human Rights

Campaign Youth & Campus Intern says, Gender-neutral housing is an important option for

LGBT* students, who may face harassment or exclusion in traditional housing. At UNI,

offering this housing will give LGBT* students and allies the option to live on campus with

whomever they choose, regardless of biological sex, gender, or gender identity.

According to Campus Pride, a national nonprofit organization for student leaders and

campus groups working to create a safer college environment for LGBT* students, 209 colleges

and universities offer gender-inclusive housing. UNI will soon be added to the list and are proud

to be a university that is more supportive of its LGBT* students. UNIs Director of Residence

Life, Nicholas Rafanello says, The Department of Residence strives to ensure all of our students

see their residence hall as a home.

The DOR has been working on gender-inclusive housing for many years and has a

history of inclusive options to various degrees. For several years, LGBT* students have had the
option of working with the DOR one-on-one to ensure their housing was supportive of their

identity needs. Some of the options have included students being placed in a house that matches

their gender identity rather than their sex assigned at birth, encouraging students to live with a

person they feel comfortable with, allowing students to live in single rooms with private

restrooms, or allowing students to live in the on-campus apartment complexes in self-designated

gender-inclusive spaces. However, There was a general consensus that we were not meeting the

needs of our students (in particular those that identify outside of the gender binary), says

Rafanello.

The gender inclusive housing has been a collaborative effort among students, faculty, and

staff. UNI LGBT* Student Services Coordinator Emily Harsch says, We've enjoyed support

from each of the groups involved for this initiative and with that support, we were able to work

with the DOR to finalize what the process looks like for students to request the newest expansion

of inclusive housing. Therefore, over the past three years, creating inclusive housing at UNI

was put into action and will be readily available in the coming year. Harsch says, UNI LGBT*

Center along with the DOR are happy to see students utilizing this option and we will continue to

collaborate with the DOR to further inclusion in our residence halls and on our campus.

The LGBT* Center has been preparing for a full expansion like this since their founding

in 2013, and even before as the office of the Dean of Students was responsible for LGBT*

inclusion on our campus. We have worked with many students one-on-one to explain options

and support their decision-making process. We are also supporting the DOR as they encounter

any concerns and we intend to offer Safe Zone Ally training to incoming RAs who will be in

housing communities with inclusive spaces, says Harsch. Rafanello agrees saying, We are
dedicated to supporting all of our students through meeting their needs as individuals and

members of the community.

Many students have become excited about the options in the coming year. UNI LGBT*

Center Ambassador Cole Fox says, Accommodating and including marginalized students is key

for engaging all students in conversations about our identities. Recognizing the transgender,

gender non-conforming, and non-binary (Trans/GNC/NB) communities will allow students to

become familiar with and celebrate these differences. Fox says, I'm proud to see UNI take a

strong step in the right direction for inclusion. Sophomore Ryan Hansen agrees saying, I'm

excited to see the gender-inclusive housing options being implemented. It will be nice to see

what the next steps UNI will take to create more of an inclusive campus after this!

As UNI transitions to being more gender-inclusive, education on the topic will also be

implemented, as it can be very easy to misinterpret. Gender pronouns, for example are quite an

unfamiliar concept to many students whom use pronouns they've been assigned with since birth

and have conformed to. When it comes to housing, Proper inclusive labeling, trained Resident

Assistants for diversity inclusion, and visible resources will be apart of the gender-inclusive

communities, says Rafanello. To go along with recognizing pronouns, Rafanello says, We [the

DOR] have created five gender options within StarRez in order to allow students to identify (or

not) in our system rather than forcing students into a binary which may not accurately represent

their identity.

Residence Life Coordinators (RLC) who are in charge of each residence halls have also

been supportive of the features to the DOR. Rider Halls RLC, Ellie Hail-Langner says, I would

not be doing my job if I didn't support every student that lived in my residence hall, lived on

campus, or asked for my support[and] This support comes in many forms, including providing
safe spaces for dialogue, inclusive environments, challenge and support to change and grow, and

so much more.

Gender inclusive housing has always existed, in many forms, and even in the homes of

people all over the world. At UNI, students have advocated for a more inclusive option that was

not-sex-segregated in the residence halls. The DOR offered a few inclusive options on an

individual student basis over time. However, the push to open up and increase this option

continued from students, and many staff and faculty members jumped on board to continue the

work to make gender-inclusive living a reality.