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The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's admissions office Web site boasts of a university that is "committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse student body" at the same time UNL's Department of Housing is advocating non-inclusive policies toward the very members of a minority community they're trying to recruit and retain.This contradiction between UNL's rhetoric and action became evident through a push by the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and ally community (GLBTQA), and other students, for UNL to adopt gender-neutral policies - such as gender-neutral bathrooms, locker rooms and housing - to which certain officials at the university are vehemently opposing, especially in terms of housing.
According to a Daily Nebraskan article published on Jan. 17, "… students at UNL shouldn't expect gender-neutral housing anytime soon." The article paraphrased Doug Zatechka, UNL's director of housing, as saying, "UNL doesn't plan to follow gender-neutral housing trend."
"I have no plans to even propose it," Steiner went on to quote Zatechka as saying.Gender-neutral housing would give students a way to sign up for on-campus housing without identifying their gender.
A USA Today article called "Gender-neutral comes to campus," written by Mary Beth Marklein, explains gender-neutral living conditions as "housing in which members of the opposite sex can live together and share a private bathroom."
For students who do not feel comfortable and/or safe ascribing to a specific gender, gender-neutral housing provides them with a safe-place for living on-campus.
UNL's blatant ignoring of and/or direct opposition to providing gender-neutral options as a solution to the needs of its students seems to stem from, I presume, either a concern for what trustees, donors and parents are going to think (which is a gross display of sycophancy if true), or a serious concern about males and females sexing it up because they live together.
Whatever the cause of the opposition, it is not a good enough reason for the university to discriminate against students by not providing for their needs.
By opposing gender-neutral facilities and housing, the university is excluding some students, specifically transgendered students, from participating and living in the same safe-space environment that "straight," "gender-specific" students are offered.
Maria Moreno, a member of the Queer Student Alliance leadership team and the sexual orientation representative for the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska (ASUN), fights for gender-neutral policies.
Moreno advocates that gender-neutral facilities and housing are issues that are important to more than just transgendered students.
"I've been doing a lot of research," she said. "I'm learning a lot more about transgenderism. It applies to everyone - people who are straight, gay, male or female. It's all about how gender affects us in society."
She continued, saying, "I think gender-neutral housing would be amazing to have for anyone and everyone. Even if we start small - say one floor of a residence hall… It provides a safe place for anyone and everyone."
Other campuses across the nation agree.
Both Sarah Lawrence College, located in Bronxville, N.Y., and the University of Southern Maine understand the importance of providing an inclusive-environment for all of their students, including those who may not feel comfortable using a gender-specific facility or living in a gender-specific place.
It sounds strange when a university's mission to providing for "all" of its students really is all-inclusive.
Sarah Cardwell, the assistant dean for residential life at Sarah Lawrence, made it clear that providing for students is her and her staff's primary goal
"I think that students do feel more comfortable living on campus... I've had more flexibility with being able to accommodate students," Cardwell said of the effects gender-neutral housing has had on their campus.
Sarah Lawrence's gender-neutral housing policy has been in effect for three years. Students, if they choose to live in the gender-neutral housing accommodations, simply do not mark their gender on housing forms.
"You should get your needs met without having to say you're transgender," Cardwell said.
Denise Nelson, the director of residential life at the University of Southern Maine, said his university, like Sarah Lawrence, does not ask students to report their gender when applying for gender-neutral housing.
"We don't ask why they're choosing to live there. We don't know if they're gay, straight, transgendered… We don't prioritize their (students') needs, nor do we even know their needs. We don't give higher priority to transgendered students."
Nelson, like Cardwell, noted that the university's priority is its students, and no student, whether straight, transgendered, asexual, etc., takes priority over another student.
While I won't back down from the importance of having gender-neutral housing facilities and how absurd Zatechka's reasoning is for not even proposing them, I also don't want to marginalize the steps UNL has made toward making campus a more inclusive place for everyone.
In the Nebraska Union, there is now a gender-neutral bathroom, Moreno said. She further said that the Campus Recreation Center, in its plans to update its facilities, is considering a gender-neutral locker room.
These steps, even if small, are huge for students who will feel even the least bit safer or more comfortable using the restroom on campus or changing their clothes before/after working out.
Nebraska is a conservative state, and any gender-neutral policy is going to be difficult to adopt, but conservative-leaning voting results are not an excuse for discriminating against an entire group of a minority that you, the university, attempts to recruit and retain.
University, decide to step up to the plate and change the way your system treats its minority students, or stop advocating for a diversity you don't want to maintain.
