Marist Introduces Gender-Neutral Housing For Students

Marist College is allowing students to have roommates of any gender, and applications are already rolling in.

According to Marist College's campus paper, The Circle, Marist will finally join other Hudson Valley campuses in providing gender-inclusive residences for students in all grades.  The Poughkeepsie campus now offers housing options similar to those already available at Vassar, Bard and Suny New Paltz, allowing students to be paired with roommates regardless of their gender.

The new policy will go into effect this fall and students who wish to participate have to apply for special interest housing. The form states that students who opt-in will need to be open to having a roommate of any gender.

Choosing to be a member of the gender-inclusive housing community comes with the responsibility of actively welcoming people of all sexes, gender identities and gender expressions.

Those who apply for gender-neutral housing are also cautioned that the new living arrangements are not designed for those who want to live with significant others.

According to the school, there are already a "fair number" of students who have filled out applications for the new on-campus living arrangements. Paperwork for the Fall semester is due on Monday, April 19.

At Vassar College, all upper-class students can apply to be roommates with anyone, regardless of their gender. By default, first-year students are paired in dorms by their gender, but those who are uncomfortable with that can apply for "gender fluid" housing.

SUNY New Paltz has gender-inclusive options in a majority of their residence halls and, like Vassar, first-year students can contact the school to make arrangements to avoid being placed with a roommate by gender. Bard College has been offering first-year students the ability to apply for gender-neutral housing since 2011. Gender-inclusive housing for upper-class students at Bard has been available for even longer.