Jamie France | Living in neutral territory

As someone who attended the Boston Ballet's Summer Dance Program for four straight years (go ahead: laugh, breathe, keep reading) I've always had a tendency to stand up for the inherent rights of my closest male friends - those of varying sexual preferences, to be politically correct.

Fortunately, my progressive gay-rights advocating skills have been put on reserve since the start of this year, as I've found no chinks in Penn's non-discrimination policy.

But recently, it occurred to me - what better outlet for my raging liberal voice than to criticize other universities! I'd like to highlight one particular policy - relatively new to Penn's campus - that most schools lack but absolutely should have: gender-neutral housing.

Gender-neutral housing allows students to share dorm rooms with members of the opposite sex, given they mutually request each other. It's the simplest means of protecting homosexual and transgender students who don't feel comfortable with same-sex roommates.

The development of a gender-neutral housing policy at Penn began in January 2003, when a gay student demanded the right to live with his straight female friend.

According to a note on the history of the program, written by Penn's housing administrators, "the student argued that Penn's room assignment policy was heterosexist in that it presupposed that all students were heterosexual (students were housed with same-sex members only)." Consequently, he believed that the policy discriminated against gay men who might prefer not to live with other men.

He was right, but the scope of the issue is much larger.

A recent article in Portland Press Herald, one of Maine's local newspapers, discussed the challenges faced by transgender college students, which are more prominent than most of us realize. The column defined transgender individuals as, "for example, someone who was born male but identifies as female."

They, too, take issue with same-sex housing policies, as well as same-sex bathroom and locker room policies. Interestingly, several colleges have changed their policies in these facilities because of an increasing need to protect transgender students.

Let's be honest. When students of clashing sexual orientations or gender identities are forced to live together for a full year, the result is often discomfort on the parts of both students. I've heard these situations discussed among students on more than one occasion. Clearly, the easiest way to eliminate this problem is giving students the opportunity to live with members of the opposite sex.

According to the Portland Press Herald article, the reason many college administrators hesitate to implement such policies is that, "for older generations, relationships with people of the opposite sex often meant romantic ties, not friendships."

Give me a break. College campuses should recognize the change in culture for younger generations. Some students, regardless of sexual orientation, are naturally better friends with members of the opposite sex and would thus feel more comfortable living with them. We are more capable of drawing the line between friendships and relationships than adults give us credit for.

Additionally, giving students the option of gender-neutral housing is really no different from what's available to students off campus.

At Penn, the majority of students move off campus sometime during their four years of undergraduate school; many do it as early as their sophomore year. If co-ed living is essentially always an option, then, adopting a gender-neutral policy could simply be seen as an attempt to keep us on campus as long as possible.

Finally, for those who are still opposed to the idea of co-ed housing, I make this final argument: Getting along with your roommate is difficult enough. If colleges can make students more comfortable, then they should do it.

Gender neutral housing was first offered on Penn's campus for the 2005-2006 school year, and already over 200 students have taken advantage of it. Though still relatively new, it stands as an expression of Penn's open-mindedness and willingness to accommodate its students whenever possible.

There are about 20 other colleges in North America that offer co-ed housing arrangements, including Wesleyan University, Swarthmore College and Carleton College.

Universities that do not fall into this list would do well to follow Penn's example, because open-mindedness is a necessity on college campuses in this day and age. I'm proud to be part of a community that has taken strides to recognize this.

Jamie France is a College freshman from Plantation, Fla. Her e-mail address is france@dailypennsylvanian.com. Le Petite Freshman appears on Fridays.

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