Student Assembly

Dear President Skorton,

Thank you again for attending yesterday’s Student Assembly meeting, we really really appreciate it. I would like to formally communicate Student Assembly Resolution 12, “Adoption of a Gender Inclusive Housing Policy,” sponsored by S.A. Members Dean Iwaoka, Ulysses Smith, Dan Kuhr and Geoffrey Block and Haven President Emily Bick. The resolution passed almost unanimously (23–1−0) at yesterday’s meeting.

The resolution requests that Campus Life creates an additional, gender inclusive housing program for students who do not identify within the gender binary system. A gender inclusive housing program would provide a safe living option for gender non-conforming, gender quer, and transgender students by offering them the option to live with whomever they choose and whomever they are most comfortable with, regardless of biological sex, gender, or gender identity.

Members of the Student Assembly and the leadership of Heaven, the LGBTQ Student Union along with residential staff, have analyzed the feasibility of introducing a gender inclusive housing program and concluded that it would be possible to implement such a program and it would be beneficial for the student body. Additionally, the model already exists on our campus in the co-op housing program, which has already proven successful.

The Student Assembly further believes that gender inclusive housing aligns with Cornell’s core commitment to diversity, a value central to the university’s founding vision, as well as its progressive goal to build a university-wide capacity to address the needs of an increasingly diverse population of students.

I have attached Resolution 12 which includes the cosponsors’ Gender Inclusive Housing Policy Document for reference. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the resolution.

Best,

Adam