2. NYU is a Pioneer of Gender Neutral Housing

Brittany Residence Hall New York University

Starting in 2002, NYU was one of the first universities to adopt protections for students who identify with various gender identities. In 2012, NYU allowed both undergraduate and graduate students to be able to reside in gender neutral housing upon request. Gender neutral housing refers to gender inclusive housing, so students are able to live with other students, regardless of their legal sex.

Before the gender neutral housing policy, room assignments had to be single-gender which is still enforced for incoming freshmen. Freshmen instead can request a room assignment based on gender identity, the gender the student personally identifies with. The gender neutral housing policy allows for friends or strangers of different genders to live together, and it allows for transgendered students enrolled in NYU housing to not be forced to identify as one specific gender on the housing application.