Starting fall semester of 2014, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville will begin offering gender inclusive housing. This will mean that men and women will be allowed to live together on campus in Southwest Hall, the four bedroom, two-bathroom, suite-style dorm.

As part of the university’s strategic plan, Residence Life is starting gender inclusive housing in order to better build a community on campus where students can learn best.

“The strategic plan has four parts: provide an outstanding education, foster a community of achievement and respect, control our own destiny and enrich the tri-states,” Director of Residence Life Linda Mulroy-Bowden said.

The goal of gender inclusive housing is to create a comfortable living environment for everyone on campus, as well as provide a wide variety of options for students who live on campus. UW-Platteville wants students to be able to live with the opposite gender if that is something that will make college life a better and easier experience for them.

The main targets for this program are transgendered students, as well as students who feel more comfortable living with a family member of the opposite gender. Residence Life also wants to create an on-campus option that would reflect off-campus living.

At the moment, Residence Life is not limiting the number of suites that can be co-ed in Southwest Hall.  In addition, the cost for living in a mixed gender suite will be the same price as a single gender suite.

“No one will be simply assigned to a mixed-gender suite. People have to request that, and right now it’s only open to juniors and seniors. If we have new students who identify as transgender, they can contact [Residence Life] and we will work with them to figure out what we can do to support them,” Mulroy-Bowden said.

An anticipated question that Residence Life expects to be a concern is what will happen if a boyfriend and girlfriend decide to share a suite and they break up during the semester. Mulroy-Bowden says they will deal with it just like any roommate conflict. There will be a very liberal room-change policy and students will be able to easily switch rooms if they want to.

The University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee both have gender inclusive housing for the first time this semester and it has been very successful so far.

“We are very excited to offer this option for students,” Mulroy-Bowden said. “I feel very confident that our staff will be able to manage this and that students will find it an exciting option for them.”