Fresno State has plans for Gender-Mixed Student Housing
Fresno State’s student housing consists of community-style dorms that are separated by gender and suite-style dorms which can be same-gender or mixed-gender.
Many students find ways to cut the cost of college by living in the community-style dorms. The cheapest option is a double room, which is a shared room in a gender-specific hall, with a shared hall bathroom.
For some students, this isn’t the best option. Transitioning, non-binary, or students who simply prefer to live around a gender-mix, don’t yet have that option within the community dorm wings.
“I think gender-inclusive housing could really benefit everyone because it’s important to get to know and hang around people different from you, including different genders. I think there’s a really big divide in our society between men and women as binary opposites, not to mention non-binary people,” said student housing resident Asher Morley. “I think it’s really important that men and women can interact and it’s not weird. We’re all human.”
Fresno State Student Housing is working toward having the option available within the next few years.
“Until our bathrooms are renovated and they can go into gender-inclusive restrooms, we’re not able to mix genders,” said Erin Boele, director of housing. “In our renovations and in all of our conversations, that’s the direction housing is moving to, is to make it so that we can mix our genders on the wings, so it’s not all just gender identified as male or female.”
Be mindful that gender-mixed community-style housing does not mean a girl and boy will be sharing the same room. It means that it will be possible for two girls to share a room next-door to two boys, for example. The restrooms and showers will be made private so everyone can feel comfortable.
Fresno State Student Housing said that not all of the buildings will be renovated to include a gender-mixed option. Students will still have the option of living in gender-separated community-style wings, even after renovations.