Housing and residence life director supports potential policy change
A Student Government Association senator has drafted a resolution on gender inclusion in OCU housing.
The resolution was researched, drafted and proposed by Sen. (Social Sciences) Reid Powell, political science/philosophy sophomore.
Powell said it all started his freshman year when he talked to some of his peers about their rooming situations.
“Being a freshman, I decided to go through the random process of selecting a roommate. I had never really thought about how gender played into rooming until I started talking to some friends about their living situations,” Powell said.
Powell said while doing research he discovered most universities always separate rooms based on gender at birth, and, after researching OCU’s policies on housing, he discovered students are currently not allowed to live with anyone who doesn’t identify as the same gender as them.
“I immediately had a problem with OCU’s policy; being a part of the LGBTQIA community, I understand what it’s like to not feel comfortable, and I wanted to create a resolution that would support all students on campus,” he said.
Powell began to do research and ended up creating the resolution based on what other universities have done and are currently doing regarding the issue.
“One of the best points I found while doing my research was the fact that a good roommate doesn’t have to be the same gender; in fact, it’s more important that you vibe with the other person, they have a good personality and they are someone you can get along with,” Powell said.
The resolution went to the Student Service committee, where it was passed. Last week, the resolution was heard on the senate floor where it also passed. The resolution will now go to the SGA president’s desk where he will decide whether to sign or veto the resolution, Powell said.
“In all honesty, the resolution has no power. The power is in the words we say and what students are asking for; the resolution is really just a formal request to get the word to higher officials,” Powell said.
The resolution is specifically calling for OCU’s housing and residence life to offer gender-inclusive upperclassman living facilities.
Trae Trousdale, SGA president, said Powell has gone above and beyond as an SGA senator.
“Reid approached me about it a few weeks ago, and I encouraged him to pursue his passions,” Trousdale said.
Trousdale said Powell approached this resolution differently than other resolutions because he took many opportunities to sit down with the director of housing and go over it to present it to the Student Senate.
Powell said OCU could potentially be one of the first, if not the first university in Oklahoma to move toward these policies.
“In my conversations with university officials that I have talked to, they all seem on board with adopting a pilot program for gender-inclusive housing in upperclassmen living facilities,” Powell said.
Casey Kreger, director of housing and residence life, said he thinks it’s very important because every student deserves equal access in housing.
“We need to meet our students’ needs,” Kreger said.
Kreger said he was able to sit down with Powell to refine his call to action a little more and make sure it was fully inclusive to all students on campus, ranging from freshmen to professional law students.
“Reid’s call to action has my support from housing,” Kreger said.
Sabrina Bartley, psychology sophomore, said she thinks it would be great to allow students to feel more comfortable on campus.
“OCU becomes a home for many students for a majority of the year, and I don’t think anyone should feel uncomfortable or left out based on how they identify,” Bartley said.
Bartley is the secretary for Spectrum, OCU’s LGBTQ+ club on campus.
“OCU already does a pretty good job being inclusive, but I think this is the logical next step, and I don’t think many people would have a problem with it,” Bartley said.
Jake Harrell, religious education/English sophomore, said he thinks it is a wonderful idea.
“Not only would it allow our LGBT friends on campus to feel safer in the dorms, but it could also help students who have a lot of drama,” Harrell said.
Harrell said he doesn’t see an issue with people of the opposite gender or sex living together, especially because students are in college.
“If it passes, I could honestly see myself living with girls, nothing against my guy roommates, but I usually get along better with my girl friends than my guy friends,” Harrell said.
Harrell said he doesn’t know of many other campuses that have taken these steps, but he doesn’t see any downsides to it.
“OCU could be on the forefront to move towards a more inclusive environment and support all students at OCU,” Powell said.
Powell said if students want to see a policy like this passed, they need to speak out about it.
“Because a resolution is largely symbolic, it will take students who support these issues to keep them accountable on continuing the implementation of this policy,” he said.
Contributing: Emily Wollenberg, editor-in-chief.
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