The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 45, No. 1 - 37

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at participating campuses, let alone training
provided to staff who work directly with genderinclusive housing. Students reported that their
RA and hall director, while typically kind and
welcoming, did not appear to have any training
or special knowledge about creating genderinclusive spaces. We heard from students who
were conﬁdent that RAs would respect and use
their pronouns, but less certain of whether or
not their RA could advocate for them or be a
source of support with a transphobic roommate. It was sobering that these students perceived that resident assistants were not a source
of support in navigating dehumanizing treatment by their roommates. Beyond being a resource, there was an overarching sense among
participants that RAs were well intentioned but
unprepared to actually appreciate trans* students' identity. As Emilio maintained,
I believe they are supportive, and I believe
they are accepting of gender and sexual
minorities but I haven't experienced direct
advocacy . . . sort of things. I don't even,
I'm not sure if they understand my gender
identity necessarily.
Surely if advocacy is considered a somewhat
advanced competency, recognizing someone's
identity is foundational to providing support to
students living in gender-inclusive housing.
We also inquired if participants were aware
of any training that residence life conducted,
and they were uncertain but skeptical. For instance, Carter noted,
I'm not entirely sure what goes into RA
training and I'm not entirely sure what goes
into training to supporting queer and trans
students; I'm sure a lot of what came from my
RA comes from the fact that she's also trans.

In this instance, Carter was convinced that
their RA had a sophisticated understanding of
gender and trans* issues because of their identity rather than any training the RA had been
provided. In talking with staff, we learned that
some institutions offered training that lasted
a few hours during a lengthier summer training, but that time was dedicated to a broader
overview of the LGBTQ community in general
or only focused on sensitizing staff to potential
bias and discrimination. No institution in our
study extended training to staff in contracting,
assignments, facilities, or custodial services.
While students were unclear about the
training their resident assistant staff received, a few pointed to the helpfulness of
their RA, who happened to be trans*. Here
the comments mainly noted that the RA's
personal identity as trans* positioned them
as experienced at navigating local/university mechanisms for hormone replacement
therapy or changing one's gender marker with
the registrar. While such guidance is certainly
helpful, it is more the result of the individual
staff member having a set of personal experiences related to their social identity, rather
than training or preparation to support trans*
and non-binary students. Moreover, that institutions are relying upon the emotional labor
of students who are trans* to provide support,
which appears to be a function of their identity
rather than their role, creates a situation that is
ripe for exploitation (Nicolazzo, 2016).
Finally, programming in these communities was scant and rarely focused on LGBTQ
identities, even in social justice-themed living
areas. Most frequently, students recollected
initial ﬂoor meetings where pronouns were
shared. This was consistently the most gender

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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 45, No. 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 45, No. 1