SA Senator Komo Pushes for Gender-Neutral Housing

Michael Komo, President of Allied and Pride and Undergraduate-At-Large Senator in the GW Student Association, is on a mission to bring gender-neutral housing to GW through his new organization, Colonials for Gender-Neutral Housing. “We have two problems with housing,” said Komo, who is Chairman of the SA Senate Student Life Committee, when asked why he supports gender-neutral housing for GW. “First, transgender students do not have proper housing. There are only ‘male’ and ‘female’ boxes on the housing application, and transgender students are not recognized or placed properly in housing. Second, several students would feel more comfortable living with the opposite sex. Our current housing program does not address the needs of students who are not comfortable living with members of the same sex. [Gender-neutral housing] would alleviate those problems and would make our housing as close to perfection as possible.” With gender-neutral housing, male and female students would be able to request living with one another, though Komo said it “would never be random.” “Gender-neutral housing would be a completely voluntary program that would be another option in housing,” said Komo. “Men would not be able to randomly request to live with women. The same is for women. Students would have to specifically request to live with one another. They would be mixed in with the rest of the students on campus. For example, Ivory 201 would be men, Ivory 202 would be women, Ivory 203 would be gender-neutral.”


Komo’s Living and Learning Cohort, “Escaping Gender,” is a test-run for gender-neutral housing on the GW campus; now in its second year, the LLC includes men, women, and transgendered students participating in gender-neutral housing. Komo says the LLC “has been extremely successful. Now, we want to implement gender-neutral housing on a larger basis.” The LLC will be publishing a “comprehensive report detailing what colleges participate in this program and how they did it,” said Komo. “It will also include why GW needs it, and a plan to implement it.” This report is set to be published the week of January 10. The SA is expected to vote on the gender-neutral housing bill the following week.