The 2023-24 School Year Will Go On without Gender Inclusive Housing

STELLA

EMILY

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Gender inclusive housing allows students of all genders to live together, meeting the needs of students who may not feel comfortable in traditional campus housing.

Gender inclusive housing at Davidson has been provided through the Sustainability Cooperative and a Gender Inclusive Housing

(GIH) community wherein one floor of a specific dormitory is dedicated to students who wish to live amongst individuals of all genders. The GIH community has been located in the basement of Sentelle Hall for the 2022-2023 school year. However, due to low applications, neither the Coop nor GIH will be offered as housing for the 2023-2024 school year.

Prior to this announcement, there were already plans to move the Sustainability Cooperative from its current location in a private house at 439 North Main Street to Knox Dormitory. However, in an email sent to the student body by Director of Residence Life (RLO) Dean Walter Snipes, he shared that the program would no longer be available.

“The idea behind gender inclusive housing is that we know there are codes and barriers that impact students’ sense of belonging within our residence halls,” Snipes said. “It offers us a unique way to acknowledge that sense of belonging and still meet current expectations.”

Anaya Patel ‘25 (any pronouns) has lived in the Sustainability Cooperative for the 20222023 school year and stressed the importance of GIH.

“Gender inclusive housing is necessary to ensure queer and trans students on campus feel safe and seen by the administration,” Patel said. “Additionally, gender inclusive housing allows queer and trans students to seek refuge and safety on what can feel like an isolating campus. At the end of the day, it’s important to come back to a space where you know your identity will be not only valued but radically nourished.”

According to Snipes, the availability of GIH is based on student applications to live in GIH communities.

“When I first got here in 2015, we covered all of second Duke, so that’s about 40 some students who all wanted to be in gender inclusive housing and that number has decreased ever since,” Snipes said.