<p>Unfortunately</a> (for some), this isn't exactly ASU we're talking about.</p>
<p>UChicago has removed restrictions regarding "gender neutral" housing for undergraduates. Thoughts?</p>
<p>Yes. This has been discussed to a fare-thee-well. I believe all of the “top” private universities essentially have some version of the same policy now. Not many people avail themselves of it – they’re saying 50 out of the roughly 3,000 undergraduates in dorms at UChicago. The policy was originally adopted at Chicago, and elsewhere, at the behest of transgendered students who often faced hostility from same-sex roommates; the idea was (and is) to let them room with whomever wants to room with them. It’s clear the policy isn’t limited to them, but I’ll bet the Sun-Times had to scrounge a bit to find such a mainstream roommate pair. (The article takes pains to let you know the woman is straight, but is silent about the man. That’s not enough evidence to reach a firm conclusion, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he is gay.)</p>
<p>Off campus, of course, and out in the world, it’s completely normal for men and women to share apartments (although usually not bedrooms if they are not romantically involved). </p>
<p>The policy isn’t inconsistent with Chicago’s relative conservatism, either. First, Chicago isn’t a conservative institution; it leans left like the rest of elite academia. It just has more conservative faculty and students than lots of its peers. Second, the conservatives at Chicago tend not to be of the religious, social-conservative type. They have a strong libertarian bent, and the notion of any authority telling you whom you can and can’t room with based, essentially, on non-universal moral norms doesn’t jibe with their philosophy at all. Also, respect for other people, their positions and their choices, is a deeply held value across the political spectrum at Chicago, and this policy reflects that, too.</p>
<p>I think it’s a great idea, and I AM a conservative.
But like JHS said, I am not one of those crazy social moral-based conservatives. I think I have unique opinions on Abortion and Same-Sex Marriage which don’t really fall into “Republican” or “Democrat.” I think you should be able to room with whomever you so choose, providing you are in the same House.</p>
<p>My housing arrangement (2 bedroom quad in the Shoreland) was gender neutral for winter and spring quarter last year (3 guys and a girl); it was a disaster. I’m not going to get into the details, but basically the girl fell in love (I wish this were an exaggeration) with her male roommate (I lived in the other room). So my suggestion is that if you are heterosexual, think twice about choosing a heterosexual roommate of the opposite sex.</p>
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<p>YES. Chicago (the University) is very far from the “bible-thumping” conservative that I think the Sun-Times is alluding to, and is much more a “you say to-MAY-to, I say to-MAH-to, free market FTW” kind of conservative.</p>
<p>Open housing (what the university is calling it) is not intended to be “cutting-edge” or “sexy.” It’s for students who want it, and sometimes students make dumb rooming decisions (both single-sex and co-ed). </p>
<p>I know many people who room in co-ed apartments withoutheterodrama, so I think another reason for the university’s implementation of open housing is to be more flexible to changing housing demands.</p>
<p>Another thing that sounds quibbly, but I think is important:</p>
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<p>The term that staff are using is “open housing,” precisely to circumvent the notion that these rooms are designated for a specific population.</p>
<p>This policy is not currently open to incoming students (so says this pdf): <a href=“http://housing.uchicago.edu/pdf/Open_Housing_announcement.pdf/[/url]”>http://housing.uchicago.edu/pdf/Open_Housing_announcement.pdf/</a> and the default housing situation will still be by sex. So if the idea of potentially living with somebody of the opposite sex gives you the willies, that’s perfectly fine and nobody will ever ask you to room with somebody of the opposite sex. </p>
<p>*** If you are a gender non-conforming (or otherwise concerned) first-year and worried about housing, please contact them.</p>