After two years, the University of Chicago decided last month to allow upper-class students to select a roommate of any gender in all campus housing, except those that are already same-sex only. The pilot program, called “Open Housing” will be implemented in January 2009 with full implementation expected by Fall 2009. The University of Chicago says that, “The policies and experiences of these and other institutions (with gender-neutral housing) were helpful in guiding our decision-making.” Referring to the successful policy change, Antonia Clifford, Director of the UChicago’s Queers and Associates told the Chicago Maroon, “[The outcome says to me] ‘this isn’t just an issue for transgender students, but all students.’”

Over in Boston, Northeastern University’s Resident Student Association announced that gender-neutral housing will be piloted in one building beginning in the 2009-2010 academic year with the hope of extending the program to other halls in the future.The University of Chicago and Northeastern have undergraduate populations of 4,900 and 15,000, respectively.