About half of the 856 students moving into residences at Ryerson University this weekend will do so without having specified their gender on their applications, meaning that they could be assigned a room with roommates of a different gender identity.
Ryerson University changed its residence policy for this school year to make the inclusion of an applicant’s gender on a housing application voluntary. Under the new rules, those applying for housing can either choose all-gender housing or specify their gender and, if they choose, indicate a preference to be paired with roommates of the same gender.
It should be noted that 95 per cent of the bedrooms in Ryerson’s residences are single-occupancy, though 68 per cent of those bedrooms share a bathroom with other bedrooms.
Speaking with CP24 on Wednesday, the school’s director of housing and residence life explained that the policy change has been implemented to create a more inclusionary environment for students.
“The number one reason was that we were hearing from students that they would actually benefit from the opening up of those bozxes we had created over gender identify. We thought it was the best way to support students going forward.” Ian Crookshank said.
Ryerson University’s Housing and Residence Life department decided to change their policy on residence room assignments following a meeting with the Trans Collective, which is a group that provides advocacy and support for trans people on campus.
Crookshank said that change should have little noticeable impact on the makeup of residences but could make some students feel more comfortable. He said that so far the university has not received any negative feedback.
“We haven’t heard from anybody because we are accommodating anyone,” he said. “For those who wish not to identify their gender we are not asking them to and if they wish to be paired or matched with somebody of the same gender identity, then they need to identify. It really does help everyone.”
While Ryerson’s decision to make the inclusion of gender on housing applications voluntary is something new for this year, Humber College has had a similar policy in place since 2014.
According to a spokesperson for the school, students have the option to request gender inclusive housing as part of their roommate matching questionnaire.
“Our standard practice when preparing room assignments is to match first on the student's answer to the gender inclusive housing question, then on other questions,” the policy states.
Students will begin moving into Ryerson University residences on Saturday.
