With youth activism at the forefront of the political arena and a generation of new voices promoting new agendas, Janelle Batta, BC ’11, has joined the movement with a proposal for gender-blind housing at Barnard.
Batta, a member of the Student Government Association Committee on Diversity, drafted the proposal three weeks ago in response to dissatisfaction among LGBT students with Barnard’s current policy, which allows Barnard students to share a suite with male Columbia students but prohibits coed rooms.
Batta’s proposal, inspired by the National Student Genderblind Campaign, would allow sophomores, juniors, and seniors to live together in a double, triple, or quadruple occupancy room. Neither biological sex nor gender identity would be considered in the housing selection process.
“The current policy is based on heteronormative assumptions which do not reflect the diversity of Barnard’s student population,” Batta said, asserting that single-sex rooming is discriminatory toward LGBT students who may feel more comfortable living with a member of the opposite sex. “It does not foster inclusion of different lifestyles or acceptance of our differing and multiple identities.”
Batta plans to present the proposal to the Student Government Association by the end of the semester, after coming to a consensus with the rest of the SGA Committee on Diversity. While other campus organizations have yet to formally recognize the campaign, members of the Columbia Queer Alliance, GendeRevolution, and Q said they anticipated that their groups would lend support.
“Implementing a gender-blind rooming policy would send a message of awareness and understanding of the needs of LGBTQ students on campus,” said Natalie Wittlin, BC ’09 and co-president of Q.
GendeRevolution President Miranda Elliot, CC ’10, said group members of GendeRevolution have also taken an interest in the campaign. Should Batta’s proposal be successful at Barnard, she said, there would be a strong case to adopt a similar initiative at Columbia.
Batta said she anticipated initial opposition from administrators concerned about problems that might arise if heterosexual couples chose to room together and then experienced difficulties in their relationship during the year. To avoid this, Batta’s proposal would require students wishing to room with a member of the opposite sex to sign a statement affirming they will not be living with a romantic partner.
“We’re encouraging housing to explicate their policy on students who are romantically involved,” Batta said.
But so far, administrators know little about the gender-blind rooming campaign. Ann Aversa, director of residential life and housing at Barnard, said she had only heard about the proposal through the Housing Advisory Board.
“I have been informed that students are putting something formal together about it, but I haven’t seen any proposal or anything in writing,” Aversa said. “Until then, I have no stance on it.”
While Batta acknowledged the administrative difficulties she is likely to face, she remains optimistic.
“Barnard students are smart, competent women living in New York City who make many practical decisions that require self-knowledge and reflection,” she said. “Deciding the best way to have a healthy and comfortable living situation should be a choice given to the students, not the administration.”
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