M.G. says that he does not think Harvard should be able to determine the circumstances in which students need gender-neutral housing, and that the policy’s stipulations could be problematic for students who cannot successfully demonstrate their need to administrators.

“I’m happy that the College provides that option, but that’s as [Harvard] deem[s] it’s necessary,” he says. “I was on a lot of radars as a transgender student. It was deemed I had a ‘need’ and not a ‘want.’ But I’m sure it could pose a lot of problems for other students.”

PROBLEMS WITH THE PILOT

While the pilot program allows students without a gender-based need to request mixed-gender housing, some students cite further obstacles related to inconsistent and unclear policies within the program.

“Access to gender-neutral housing absolutely depends on which House you’re in,” says Eddins, who has worked to erase this difference by encouraging Houses to join the pilot program, which now includes eight Houses.

For example, Blecher-Cohen and his blockmates were denied gender-neutral housing in Cabot because they were sophomores, a policy that he says discriminates between single- and mixed-gender suites.

“With single-gendered suites, if there’s an issue, no one makes the assumption that the problem came from the fact that it’s single-gendered,” he says.

Meanwhile, Adams House, which is also in the pilot program, permits all students to apply for the alternative housing option. According to Marcy Holabaugh, Adams House Administrator, students who want a mixed-gender suite need only sign an additional form later in the rooming process.

Blecher-Cohen, who has discussed this issue with OSL and House administrators, says that he finds Harvard’s gender-neutral housing system very decentralized. It was unclear, he says, when and with whom he was meant to speak with while exploring the option.

Jordan T. Weiers ’16, one of Winthrop’s UC representatives and an organizer of the gender-neutral housing referendum petition, agrees. Reflecting on his experience seeking gender-neutral housing last year, he says, “It was clear that no one was in charge of it. It wasn’t really moving forward at all.”

Part of the problem, according to Weiers’ roommate and fellow referendum organizer Brianna J. Suslovic ’16, is that ambiguous information has been passed around through word of mouth, but not through a policy or formalized evaluation of the pilot program.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

According to College spokesperson Jeff Neal, the College is currently evaluating the pilot program.

“Historically, like many peer institutions, the College long required single-gender living arrangements,” he says. “As planned, the College is engaged this year in a review of the pilot program, and looks forward to learning more about student views on this issue as a part of that review.”

Harvard’s re-evaluation of its housing policies mirrors discussions taking place at other Ivy League colleges. Nearly all have expanded gender-neutral housing options for students in recent years, with the University of Pennsylvania leading the pack in offering gender-neutral housing to all upperclassmen beginning in 2005. Princeton, Cornell, Columbia, and Yale have all launched gender-neutral housing pilot programs in recent years.