This fall for the upcoming 2019-20 school year, UC San Diego will finally offer gender-inclusive housing as an option in all seven residential areas on campus. Both returning students and incoming freshmen will have the option to note a request for such lodging accommodations on their housing application. In partnership with the Housing Dining Hospitality, Residential Life will work to place interested students who want to live together within each college.

Gender Inclusive Housing will be an option to those who complete the housing contract and make the $450 prepayment, which must have been submitted by the Feb. 24 deadline. Applications to stay in gender-inclusive housing, which will allow students who are not the same gender to live together to serve as an inclusive designated space for students within the LGBTQIA+ community, were available online.

Executive Director of HDH Hemlata Jhaveri spoke out on the significance of this expansion in the residential areas for the university’s students.

“We are proud to be a part of a university that supports our students, inclusive of all genders, gender identities, and expressions,” Jhaveri told the UCSD Guardian. “HDH has provided gender-inclusive housing options for our continuing undergraduate residents at each residential college and area for nearly 10 years.”

Until recently, the primary opportunity for gender-inclusive housing was the LGBTQIA+ Living Learning Community in the John Muir College residential community — which was open to students in their second year. Approximately 73 students participated in the gender-inclusive housing in the 2018-19 academic year.    

Director of Residential Life at Earl Warren College Dana Pysz explained that first-year and transfer students eligible to live on campus who are still in their first year at UCSD can expect to see the new option available in their housing application at their respective college or housing area.

UCSD has been working towards its expansion of more gender-neutral facilities all throughout campus. In a recent meeting held by UCSD administrators this week, it was announced that Dirty Birds, the restaurant replacing Round Table Pizza will have the first multi-stall gender-inclusive bathroom at Price Center.  

photo by Hazel Leung