Macalester may soon introduce a “gender-blind” housing option that would allow male and female students to be roommates and suitemates in the residence halls.

According to Director of Residential Life Sarah Griesse, discussions about gender-blind housing began last spring when she began working with Queer Union (QU) members to brainstorm ideas on how to make Macalester policies more attractive to transgender students.

According to the University of Washington’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Commission, a transgender “is an umbrella term used to describe people who do not fit into traditional gender categories, including transsexuals, transvestites or crossdressers, intersexuals (formerly called hermaphrodites) and sometimes evenpeople who identify as butch or femme.”

QU Co-Chair Megan Bayles ’05 said that many students involved with QU are concerned that Macalester does not provide a transgender-friendly environment.

“The strength of the Res. Life program relies on the fact that it provides different opportunities for living,” Griesse said. “Meeting the needs of more students can only strengthen what we have to offer.”

A few of the possible locations for gender-blind housing are a section in Kirk Hall, a section of suites in George Draper Dayton Hall and the divided double rooms in Wallace basement. Each of these spaces could potentially provide unisex bathrooms as well, another request of some QU members.

Griesse said that Residential Life has discussed different solutions and is now in the planning stage. In this phase of the process, Griesse will work with Dean of Students Laurie Hamre to plan the details. Bayles said that Griesse and Hamre will return with a revised, and potentially final, gender-blind housing plan. “A lot of steps need to be taken to make sure living is as comfortable as possible for as many people possible,” Bayles said.

Macalester’s consideration of adding gender-blind housing to its residential options follows a similar move by Wesleyan University, which began offering limited gender-blind housing options this fall.

According to Bayles, Macalester would not make gender-blind housing exclusive to transgender students. Macalester could follow Wesleyan’s example by requiring students who wish to live in gender-blind housing to sign a contract agreeing to the mission of gender-blind housing. Another possibility, Bayles said, is to require students to fill out an application to apply for gender-blind housing.

Bayles said that she believes the possibility that romantic couples may attempt to live together could be problematic. However, Bayles said that she hopes students will realize that couples living together is not the purpose of the gender-blind housing. “I can trust that students won’t take advantage of this option,” Bayles said.

Resident Assistant Rehan Noronha ’05 pointed out that parental approval may be another issue with gender-blind housing. “My parents may not like it,” prospective first-year student Jenn Wise said.

Residential Hall Director Tom Williamson said that he believes that gender-blind housing is a good step to take, but that it needs to be approached very carefully. Williamson said the Residential Life Staff would require additional training if gender-blind housing becomes a reality.

Resident Assistant SherAli Tareen ’05 also sees the need for more training. “With the gender dimension coming into play, it would make conflict resolution more difficult,” Tareen said.

Although gender-blind housing may require training, Williamson said the new housing option will not necessarily make his job more difficult. “Macalester is more focused on what students want and need,” Williamson said. “If students are happy, there are fewer problems.”

“The idea of gender-blind housing seems risky because it hasn’t been widely implemented,” Tareen said. “We know boys and girls co-exist in a friendly nature, so there’s no reason why it couldn’t be successfully implemented.”

“If adding gender-blind housing would make more people comfortable, it would make my job easier,” Resident Assistant Carolina Muñoz ’06 said.