Willamette University in Salem, Oregon announces that, starting in the Fall of 2008, it will offer gender-neutral housing options on campus.

This means that male and female students will be allowed to room together on campus. Students interested in the option must go through an additional application process.

Willamette claims that it made the move to help GLBT students. They claim that many of these students feel uncomfortable being forced to room with students of the same gender. Around 75% of all Willamette undergraduates live in on-campus housing.

CALL FOR RESPONSE: Were you out in college? How did you feel about being out? Would you have liked the option of gender-neutral housing at your college? Leave comments on this article!

There are approximately 30 other universities in the nation offering on-campus gender neutral housing including Oregon’s Lewis and Clark and Oregon State University. All of the colleges claim the comfort of GLBT students as the reason for the offering, although Oregon State allows anyone to take part in the arrangement. They note that many non-GLBT students partake of the gender-neutral housing to simply allow friends or siblings to live together on campus.

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