Talking Stick - May/June 2017 - 46

where single toilet and single shower
restrooms are available. Clark further
advocates the use of pictograms that
illustrate the room's fixtures, not the
person assumed to be using the room.
Steve Akers, associate director at
Indiana University in Bloomington,
explains his campus's approach. "We
changed the signage to 'All Gender
Restroom' on the public single-use
restrooms, and later we did the
same on resident floors where single
user bathrooms exist." These public
restrooms are ideally ADA accessible,
contain unisex fixtures, and are near
public spaces for general use and large
gatherings. If space permits, a baby
changing table enables the room to
also serve as a family restroom.
These examples show a movement
toward universal facility design that not
only supports LGBTQ students, but also
flexible use by all genders, abilities, and
ages. Primary users of residence halls
are college students, but during summertime and special events, conference
housing must flex to support a variety
of demographics. Building design
with flexible function and signage can
extend the use of many spaces beyond
previous limitations.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON

"Our new application
asks all students how they
identify when it comes to
their gender as well as their
sexual orientation," says
Sousa-Ransford. "From the
students who have already
applied for housing, between
two and three percent of
them have already indicated
that their gender identity
does not align with their
biological sex."

Assignments That
Accommodate
by Kathryn Magura

Oregon is considered to be a progressive liberal state, yet one of the largest
housing programs in the state felt
it had been lagging in providing a
gender-inclusive housing process that
allows students who do not identify as
their biological sex to fully participate
in the room assignment and application process. "For a number of years,
we have offered two living communities: a Gender Equity Hall and an LGBTQIA+ community, both of which
are located in the same building,"
says Silvina Sousa-Ransford, associate

46

TALKING STICK

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON

director of residence life at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Once
students indicated their interest in
one of the communities, they completed a supplemental application,
which was reviewed by the academic
partner for the program. "The academic partners provide a lot of personal outreach to students to ensure
there is both support from and for the
community for students who want to
participate," she explains.

While this process had served the
University of Oregon well, SousaRansford explains that there was so
much more they could be doing to
support LGBTQ students beyond the
two communities. As a result, beginning with the 2017-18 academic year,
the university will launch a new housing application that better serves all
students. "Our new application asks
all students how they identify when it
comes to their gender as well as their
Talking Stick - May/June 2017

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