Temple opened a gender-neutral option for on-campus housing for Fall 2017, allowing students to live in a suite or apartment no matter their gender identity, expression or sexual orientation.
This is a positive step forward for the university in regard to LGBTQ issues. Students deserve to have access to housing on Main Campus that allows them to room in an environment that guarantees respect for their sexual or gender identity.
This also creates an experience for LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ students to learn from each other in an environment other than academics or student clubs. And more importantly, it normalizes the idea of acceptance and coexistence for all students.
The Temple News hopes that the university makes sure students who live there feel safe, and provides any other necessary forms of support for LGBTQ students as well.
Everyone deserves to feel safe and comfortable in their own skin and in their own rooms. Creating gender-inclusive housing is essential to ensuring that. But Temple shouldn’t stop there. The university has to make sure it continues to expand options for LGBTQ students with more safe spaces and safe opportunities around campus.
The Temple News also encourages students at Temple who are straight and cisgender — meaning their gender identity is the one commonly associated with their sex — to be allies to LGBTQ students and increase awareness of the resources available. Mutual trust and respect are essential to being inclusive, and it’s up to everyone at Temple to ensure that this happens not only in dorms, but across campus.
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