Beginning in the Fall 2021 semester, Florida State University students will have the option to express interest in LGBTQ+ housing on their housing applications. The change mirrors the actions of other universities around the country, including the University of Florida, who have made similar efforts to accommodate LGBTQ+ students.
With the new housing option, students will be able to indicate if they would like to live in LGBTQ+ housing, which will welcome both students who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies.
According to FSU Housing, the housing option has already been offered to almost 200 current FSU housing residents. Incoming freshmen interested in living on campus will also be eligible to opt into LGBTQ+ housing, and the students will be made aware of the option as they complete the housing application process.
In order to ensure equal access, the rooms will be spread across campus in different locations and price points, according toUniversity Housing.
Shannon Staten, executive director of University Housing, hopes that offering this option will allow students some control over their living situation and help ensure that their needs are met.
“The feedback received thus far has been very positive, and there already have been individuals who have signed up for the new option,” Staten said.
Despite the positive feedback Staten reports, however, there has been some pushback from students about the new option’s helpfulness. One student organization, Gender Odyssey at FSU, vocalized their complaints at a press conference on Thursday.
Gender Odyssey is a social group for transgender and gender-nonconforming students at FSU committed to supporting and advocating for gender inclusivity on and around campus. The group launched its transgender-inclusive housing initiative and coalition in 2019 in hopes of drawing attention to the safety of their community.
Jay Galante, president of Gender Odyssey, led Thursday’s conference. He began by expressing Gender Odyssey’s feelings toward FSU’s implementation of LGBTQ+ housing accommodations.
“Unfortunately, FSU Housing’s initial steps of this process have been inadequate at best and totally negligent at worst,” Galante stated.
A number of students involved with Gender Odyssey shared personal stories from their experiences living in FSU housing. One student, Sadie Carlson, felt very uncomfortable with one of her roommates.
“I had a roommate situation a few years ago where I ended up with a roommate who constantly dead named and misgendered me,” Carlson said.
She explained that there were more “egregious incidents” that led her to contact her Resident Assistant, who she claims did nothing to help her.
“It feels like I am being punished for being victimized,” said Carlson.
In his closing remarks, Galante enumerated the measures the organization implores FSU to take in order to achieve what they believe to be satisfactory gender-inclusive housing. The desired measures included taking identities into account when assigning students to rooms and rewording the question on the housing application to ask the applicant if they are interested in living with an LGBTQ+ roommate, rather than living in LGBTQ+ housing.
In keeping with university policy, however, University Housing says they assign rooms without regard to race, creed, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, veterans’ or marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or any other protected group status.
“We do not ask students to disclose any gender identity on the housing contract,” explained Staten. She also said students are not asked if they identify as LGBTQ+ on the contract.
One student, a member of Gender Odyssey who wished to remain anonymous, brought up FSU’s use of legal names in the housing management system.
“Another issue that’s really important that’s not being addressed at all is the fact that names aren’t being changed in housing management systems,” the student remarked. “I feel that this is something that FSU can tangibly address very quickly and should already be addressed as of right now.”
Staten, however, says otherwise.
“We must use the student’s legal name because it is a legal contracting process for our housing contract,” she explained. “This is on our list of items to work through, and we hope to be able to use the preferred names with communication in the future.”
The LGBTQ+ housing option is still in its early stages, so the university is working to develop its offerings further in response to student needs and desires.
“University Housing also has met with representatives from Gender Odyssey, PRIDE Student Union and the FSU Center for Health Advocacy and Wellness (CHAW) to seek their insight as this is the first time the university has offered the new housing option,” Staten explained.
The LGBTQ+ housing option will therefore continue to take shape as time progresses. Members of Gender Odyssey are determined to have their opinions heard.
“If our demands are not met, we will continue organizing in whatever form that may take until our voices are properly heard,” Galante said.
