By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Officials at Georgetown University have told students that they are willing to consider “gender-blind housing” on campus that would “not take into account gender when assigning housing to students.”
According to the Cardinal Newman Society (CNS), an organization dedicated to restoring the Catholic identity to the nation’s Catholic colleges and universities, news that University officials were willing to “take a closer look” at the idea of “gender blind” housing was reported in a recent issue of The Hoya, the student newspaper. The concept of gender-blind housing is supposedly being considered in order to bring about “a more accepting atmosphere for LGBTQ students.”
Regarding the proposal, Todd Olsen, Vice President for Student Affairs, reportedly told The Hoya, “I am open to discussing ideas and interests with students as they pursue this dialogue.”
The Hoya reports that Georgetown students have mixed feelings about “gender-blind” housing on campus:
“Though I think gender-blind housing would potentially be a positive thing to consider, we have to remember that if ‘significant others’ chose to live with each other then broke up, we would have a higher number of people needing to change rooms, thus creating a housing nightmare,” said student Moriah Lenhart-Wees.
Others approve of the idea.
“Gender-blind housing would be very beneficial to the Georgetown community,” said Eric Bulakites. “It would be helpful to the many people on campus who have friends of the opposite sex and who have different sexual orientations.”
As CNS points out, the article fails to even mention the fact that, as a Catholic university, Georgetown has a responsibility to promote the virtue of chastity on campus.
“Placing men and women together as roommates completely undermines this,” the say in a recent press release. “It is disturbing that “officials” at the institution are even willing to broach this topic with students. The answer should be quite simple: No.”
Unfortunately, many Catholic universities already have very lax, if not non-existent, male/female inter-visitaion policies for dorm life, CNS says.
“Allowing “gender-blind” housing would only serve to institutionalize the hook-up culture which sadly pervades much of Catholic higher education.
“Fortunately for Catholic parents and students serious about living the Catholic faith and the virtues during the college years, there are institutions that make chastity a corner-stone of campus life. The Catholic colleges and universities profiled in The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College have student life policies in effect that severely curb and in most cases eliminate the hook-up culture from campus.”
The Newman Guide can be read free on line at http://www.TheNewmanGuide.com
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