Philippi Hall on the Gorham campus and Portland Hall in Portland will be the first dorms at USM to offer gender neutral (co-ed) housing. A total of fifteen rooms are turning co-ed for the fall. On the night of room selection all ten Philippi Hall and five Portland Hall co-ed rooms filled.
Denise Nelson, the Director of Residential Life, was eager for gender neutral housing to be an option at USM. “We’ve received requests for housing that didn’t fit into traditional housing options,” she said.
Past students who have wanted gender neutral housing include brothers and sisters, cousins and best friends. “We also have transgender students who are in the process of moving from one gender to another. We can’t be all things to all people, but we can expand what choices we offer,” said Nelson.
Freshman Media Studies major Jen Berry considered the option of gender neutral housing with a close friend. “Perhaps guys and girls would live together better than two girls or two guys,” she said. “I felt more comfortable rooming with a friend who’s a guy.”
Another freshman who could not get into the gender neutral housing in Philippi is Media Studies major Matt Tenney. He did not get into the room because he didn’t have the number of credit hours that a student needs to secure a room at Philippi Hall, although he had wanted to do it. “Women are generally cleaner than men,” he joked. “We have different cleanliness habits.”
A committee was formed to iron out the details of the new housing facet.
“The committee read about the options open to us, talked about what we want to be as a residential life program,” Nelson explained. Researching other schools’ programs was also helpful in deciding how to create the ideal situation for gender neutral housing. Binghamton University in New York has cooperative group living. Wesleyan University in Connecticut also has a type of gender neutral housing program that was the first of its kind in the country.
On USM’s campus, this special housing option was advertised on posters put up by Residential Life and on flyers on tables in the Brooks Dining Center on the Gorham campus.
“We decided to create a pilot program,” said Nelson. “I passed it up through the Vice President and then the President and got the approvals.”
Jason Arey, the Assistant Director for the Department of Residential Life, said, “I’m excited about it because it definitely increases our housing options for students. We researched other schools and based it on that information.”
Meg Fletcher can be reached at [email protected]