New Residents Adjust to All-Gender Dorms

Exeter’s first gender-inclusive housing option has officially gone into effect with the start of the 2017-2018 school year in Williams House and Kirtland House. The school worked on the housing option following years of discussion and the creation of a faculty task force with the intent of meeting the needs of all students regardless of their gender expression, gender identity, sex or sexual orientation. The dorms have already proved successful in creating a comfortable and welcoming residential environment.English Instructor and Kirtland House Dormitory Head Courtney Marshall enjoys the close knit community. “Everybody really goes far to make the space warm and cozy.  It really feels like a place to relax and rejuvenate after a long day,” she said.

“Everybody really goes far to make the space warm and cozy.  It really feels like a place to relax and rejuvenate after a long day."

Senior and current resident of Williams House Michael Garcia also praised the positive atmosphere and added that the all-gender house feels bigger than just a place where people who identify with different genders live together. “Since it is currently such an interesting time for Exeter and our country in terms of the political climate, living in the dorm has been incredibly fulfilling in the sense that I sometimes feel as though I’m doing something bigger than myself. We’re not just living together; we’re leading the way for Exonians to begin to deconstruct their preconceptions regarding gender, sex and sexuality,” he said.Garcia believed that the faculty were instrumental in creating a positive and healthy culture that functions as a welcoming space for residents. “By the faculty acknowledging that they don’t know everything there is to know about gender, they enabled an open dialogue to be created so people feel comfortable learning more about gender and about themselves,” he said.Residents of the dorm also acknowledged the aspects of the dorm that feel new, such as the visitations policy or gender-inclusive language. In order to create a comfortable dorm environment, both faculty and students acknowledged that they all had more to learn regarding race and gender.Senior and current resident of Williams House Maya Kim discussed the great opportunity to learn brought by the chance to live in the house. “I love living in a space that has such good representation among genders. We have some great conversations that we would probably not have otherwise,” she said.Despite how different both Kirtland House and Williams House may seem from the rest of the dorms on campus, the atmosphere and unity that makes a dorm a dorm is clearly still present. Cam Speck, proctor and current resident of Williams House, noted that his favorite part would be that “in many aspects it’s the same as any other dorm.” He added, “Everyone is friendly and respectful which contributes to our own unique type of atmosphere.”Both houses have also implemented a different visitations policy from other dorms across campus, a topic surrounded with lots of discussion from both faculty and students. Under the current policy for the two dorms, people of all gender identities and expressions are allowed to visit the resident’s room as long as the door is open. English Instructor and dorm head of Williams House Christina Breen said that there have not been any issues with the new visitations policy.The all-gender housing program has been a great change not only for the residents but also for the community. Despite the changes, residents are enthusiastic about the new housing option. To continue to ensure that all students are comfortable on campus, Breen and Marshall will be developing a curriculum for the student body throughout the year regarding gender identity. The curriculum kicked off with the opening of the newest art exhibit “Queer Kids” in the Lamont Art Gallery this past Friday, and according to Breen, there will be “several speakers throughout the year and a spring symposium.”