Recently, many Ivy League schools have begun implementing gender-neutral housing on their campuses. After long hours of hard work by several organizations, including the SGA, Freedom Alliance, and Residential Life, on Feb. 2, UMBC's SGA passed legislation proclaiming SGA's support of gender-neutral housing on campus. The passage of this legislation also serves as a pledge by the SGA to make efforts ensuring that gender-neutral housing becomes a permanent option for UMBC's residential students. In gender-neutral housing, students, regardless of gender, can live together in the same room. While the idea is often associated with members of the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) community, couples, best friends of the opposite sex, and those would prefer living with someone of the opposite gender are all viable candidates for gender-neutral housing. This housing option is based upon the idea that as adults, college students should be able to live with whomever they want. Also, while open to every student, gender-neutral housing will never become mandatory as many students still wish to vie for the "traditional" college housing of same-sex dormitories and apartments. The efforts to see gender-neutral housing become a reality began long before the legislation last Monday was passed. Several semesters ago, Freedom Alliance, the pro-LGBTQ rights group on campus, created a gender-neutral initiatives group that collaborated on how best to advocate for things such as gender-neutral housing and restrooms. It was this group which began working with Residential Life to create a gender-neutral housing area on campus. Residential Life has been looking into the concept of gender-neutral housing on campus for quite some time. Paula McCusker and Michelle Danaher are at the forefront of the alternative housing discussion. Both work in the Office of Student Advocacy within the SGA and, despite the gender-neutral bill's passage, will continue to campaign for additional gender-neutral options at UMBC. McCusker was the primary author of the legislation passed Monday. The bill's passage was aided by Speaker Gabe Rettaliata, Senator Brian Frazee, and USM Student Regent Josh Michael. Before any such legislation could come into existence, however, advocates of gender-neutral housing vied for a pilot gender-neutral housing block in the Walker Apartments. Although the apartments exist within the UMBC campus, the apartments are managed by an outside company, Capstone, Inc. According to McCusker, the pilot was created to gauge reactions and responses to gender-neutral housing. To initiate this process, Residential Life drafted a proposal and submitted it to Vice President of Student Affairs Nancy Young, who approved of the pilot. The proposal called for two gender-neutral apartments in Walker, one three-person apartment and one four-person unit. To apply for this housing option, students were required to fill out separate online applications including a written paragraph in which the applicant explained why he or she wanted to live in gender-neutral housing. This application, with the applicant's name removed, was reviewed by a committee of Residential Life representatives, the manager of Walker Apartments, and student advocates, including McCusker. Forty people applied for the housing option, mostly in groups, although some applied solo. With such a high demand, the committee accepted 16 people into the pilot housing program. These participants resided in four Walker Avenue rooms during the Fall 2008 semester. Because this alternative housing has proved to be so popular, all those involved in the pilot's planning are striving to expand gender neutral living areas to the Hilltop and Terrace apartments. The legislation approved by the SGA recognizes that there is a need for gender-neutral housing in the UMBC community and pledges SGA support of Residential Life's effort to expand gender-neutral housing to more affordable apartments on campus. This would eliminate financial barriers that might dissuade potential applicants. When asked about her hopes for this program, McCusker stated, "I hope the housing selection in the spring is advertised well enough so lots of people on campus know that it exists and is an option for them to apply to." As for other plans this semester, McCusker and Danaher plan to continue advocating for the inclusion of Gender Identity and Expression in the USM's non-discrimination policy while working with the Mosaic Center on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Awareness Training Sessions and SafeZone Training, programs that teach participants how to be effective advocates for the LGBTQ community. Anyone who wishes to participate in LGBTQ advocacy can contact Paula McCusker at paulam1@umbc.edu.