Gender inclusive rooming – the option to room with people of any gender – is available in all campus housing. Students who choose to room together are not restricted by gender or gender identity. Incoming students can express on their housing questionnaire if they prefer a roommate of the same gender identity, or if they are comfortable living with any gender identity. Students also have the option of discussing potential roommates with Residential Life staff if they are unsure.
Gender inclusive rooming allows all students to figure out how gender might factor into their rooming preferences. The gender inclusive rooming option also ensures that students who are transgender, intersex, or otherwise do not identify within the gender binary, do not need to “out” themselves to the Office of Residential Life in order to be comfortable in their rooming situations.
Our gender inclusive rooming policy reflects Wheaton’s commitment to gender equality and fostering an inclusive living and learning environment. The policy also reflects the importance Wheaton places on providing students with a variety of housing options. While an increasing number of college and university campuses in the U.S. have gender inclusive rooming policies, Wheaton is among a select few that both allow gender inclusive rooming for all students, and does not limit students who want a gender inclusive room to a particular area of campus.
Additionally, all of the residence hall bathrooms at Wheaton are considered gender inclusive. All residents and their guests, regardless of any gender or gender identity, may use the facilities in all residence halls and houses. Within the gender inclusive housing policy, there are also two communities that students can opt-into, Female to Nonbinary or Male to Nonbinary, where students live in areas within those gender-identity spectrums. Students are not placed into these spaces based on the gender identity that they write in on the housing application, but rather indicate interest or select a room within these communities during housing selection. While the students that opt to live in these areas identify within the respective spectrum, the residence hall bathrooms are still gender inclusive for all students and guests.
Gender inclusive rooming was implemented in the spring of 2010 for current students and in the fall of 2010 for incoming students. Wheaton’s gender inclusive rooming policy was proposed by a group of students from the LGBTQ+ Alliance, enthusiastically supported by the Student Government Association (SGA), and ultimately approved by the College Administration in November 2009.
For more information concerning LGBTQ+ support on campus, you can connect with The Network for LGBTQ+ Inclusion, Support, and Advocacy.