Dorms allow gay couples

Gay, lesbian and unmarried heterosexual couples will be able to live together in campus residences previously reserved only for married graduate students starting next semester, Director of Residential Living Gigi Simeone said yesterday. In the past, only University students and their spouses and children could live in University housing. Now, graduate students can have anyone -- from parents to lovers to unrelated friends -- living with them, Simeone said. "Graduate students in graduate housing will be able to live with others, provided they take full financial and behavioral responsibility," Simeone said. All residents must register with residential living, Simeone said. Non-University residents will receive PENNcards in order to gain access to their buildings after they bring written authorization from housing to the PENNcard Center, said Frank Neithammer, director of the Center. Neithammer said that their identifications will give them access to Van Pelt Library and Escort Service, in addition to their own residence. Like University students, they can pay to use recreational facilities, but borrowing privileges at the library and access to other buildings will have to be negotiated separately. Mayer Hall, Graduate Towers and the graduate area of Low Rise North -- the third and fourth floors -- are affected by the new policy, Simeone said. The Graduate Towers, which are not normally used for couples, would only be used if Mayer Hall is full, she added. Current occupancy rates in graduate housing are fairly high, Simeone said, adding that she does not know what effect the new policy will have. The change was made after evaluating a request the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly made last year, Simeone said. Both GAPSA and the Graduate Students Associations Council passed resolutions last spring urging a policy change. Past GSAC chairperson Anne Cubilie said she had been concerned because housing was not provided for gay, lesbian and other non-traditional couples. Because the final draft of the new policy is not completed, Andrew Nestler, co-chairperson of Lambda Grads -- the lesbian, gay, bisexual graduate student alliance -- said he was reluctant to comment last night. He said that a policy which forces the University to comply with city regulations against discrimination of gay and lesbian students would be welcomed. "One of the things we are working towards is equal rights for all, especially in living conditions," Nestler said. But Simeone said there are no plans to change residential living policies for undergraduates. "I don't foresee co-ed housing for undergraduates," Simeone said. "We've been focusing on graduate students." Although the policy will not be implemented until the spring semester, "for the rest of this semester we'll handle [requests for housing] on a case-by-case basis," Simeone said.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.