MAKING HOUSING GENDERNEUTRAL WORK O n the one hand it seems like only yesterday. On the other, it seems like forever ago. Shortly after the turn of the millennium, there were only a small handful of colleges and universities that offered – or were even considering – genderneutral housing assignments. At that time, each announcement of the new option was met with a seeming mixture of surprise and confusion. Men and women? Living in the same room? Although the option remains far from commonplace, a number of colleges and universities have responded to increasing interest from students by making gender-neutral housing available. Those institutions at the forefront of this movement have now had time to look back and assess the benefits and challenges of providing this housing option and have begun to establish best practices for those hoping to follow their lead. Each institution considering the option is faced with a myriad of decisions: how campus stakeholders will be involved, what kind of targeted programming may be needed, what kind of learning YOUR CAMPUS HAS COMMITTED TO GENDER-NEUTRAL HOUSING. NOW WHAT? by Stacy Oliver and Kathryn Magura JULY + AUGUST 2011 37