Following the Administration’s decision to reverse its policy on gender neutral housing for frosh, many Wesleyan students—particularly those who have a personal interest in gender neutral housing—are geared up to fight for policy changes in the near future.
Ryan Moritz ’08 had his roommate selection reversed by interim Dean of the College Peter Patton after the re-inspection of the gender neutral housing option late this summer. Moritz and Ulyana Sorokopoud ’08, his assigned roommate, were randomly placed together under the gender-neutral housing policy. The pair was told in August, however, that they would be split into same-sex pairs due to confusion on the part of both high-level Administration and some twenty other biological male-female roommate pairs.
Moritz expressed irritation with the Administration’s failure to alert him that his roommate had been switched.
“No one made an attempt to contact me,” he says. “I only found out from my portfolio.”
Josh Pavlacky ’08 and Lily Dagdigian ’08, also a male and female roommate pair, were the only other such pair not to request a housing switch. Like Moritz and Sorokopoud, however, they were forced to split.
“It felt like they were trying to do it without us noticing,” Dagdigian said.
“[The Administration’s approach was] not conducive to a friendly environment for the arriving freshman,” Pavlacky said.
Despite perturbation with last-minute changes, the students remain optimistic about the future of gender-neutral housing on campus.
“We’re definitely activist types,” said Pavlacky.
If the system worked correctly for them, he said, it will feasibly work for others when and if the Administration chooses to reinstate the gender-neutral option.
Delving even further into the possibilities of gender blindness, Pavlacky suggested that every incoming student have the option of stating a roommate preference based on his or her sexual orientation or personal level of comfort, as he did.
Pavlacky, Moritz and Dagdigian have reported near-unanimous support from their fellow students.
“No one I’ve talked to sides with the Administration [on this issue],” said Moritz.
Moxie Trissel ’07, house manager of Earth House, is one student who supports the option of genderblind housing.
“Although it’s unfortunate that the Administration has displayed so little consistency, I feel like we should be resilient,” Trissel said. “Wesleyan students have a way of taking things into their own hands, in terms of housing or otherwise. Folks will end up living where they feel comfortable one way or another.”
Paige Kruza ’07, an active member of the Queer Task Force and former resident of Nicolson’s now defunct gender blind hall, was similarly encouraging about student opinion on this issue.
“A lot of students are beginning to understand that this goes beyond trans and queer issues, that it’s about adults undermining student decisions,” Kruza said.
Moritz’s disappointment spanned beyond his personal roommate situation.
“[The gender neutral option was] one of the reasons I decided to come to Wes in the first place,” he said. “I thought it was unique and cool.”
Zach Strassburger ’06 was involved in the fight for gender-neutral housing and is currently abroad in Slovenia.
“Many of the students on my study abroad program have heard of Wesleyan’s gender neutral housing policy and are impressed,” Strassburger wrote in an e-mail. “I am saddened and embarrassed to tell them it is no longer in place.”