New Transgender Housing Options Approved
The rainbow floor of Century Apartments has been given the green-light by USC trustees to let male, female, and transitioning students live together.
The policy only applies to the 28 residents of the dorm’s floor, but USG senator Josh DeMilta says this is a community that needs special attention.
“It can be a very invisible population,” explains DeMilta. “I've known people from my freshman year who I didn't even know were transgender, and now they visibly are.”
DeMilta says his own experience in USC housing inspired him to work with Rainbow Floor residential advisors to push the proposal through.
“I personally feel like I would've taken advantage of this opportunity if I had it, coming in as a freshman,” added the senator.
Fellow USG senator, Keshav Tyagi, says a close friend of his also regrets not having a gender-neutral housing option.
“I had one friend who was born a woman but who identified as a male, but the university still identifies her as a female. And because of that, she technically is supposed to be living with all girls, but that obviously was a big discomfort for her because she feels more akin to living with men,” explained Tyagi.
DeMilta and Tyagi consider this a success for USG, but the Office of Student Affairs had no comment. LGBT Resource Center director, Vincent Vigil, says the next step is uncertain.
“There probably won't be an official statement from anybody in administration,” said Vigil. “We want this to be a trial period, just to kind of see how it goes with the Rainbow Floor.”
Vigil added the new policy will be modeled after the gender-neutral housing at Stanford University.
Because this resolution only applies to apartments on the Rainbow Floor of Century, some students are saying the new policy is unfair.
“I feel like that is not helping the situation at all,” says USC housing resident Alexa Pace. “It's not fair that because of this, couples that are gay can live together, but couples that are straight cannot.”
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None of this would be possible without the work of the current Rainbow Floor RA, Riss Edmond!!!
Thank you so much Riss!