All-gender housing is a housing option in which two or more students may share a multiple-occupancy bedroom, in mutual agreement, regardless of the students’ sex or gender.

This creates an environment where student housing is not restricted to traditional limitations of the gender binary, and all-gender housing supports Middlebury’s nondiscrimination policy with respect to sexual orientation, sex, gender, and gender identity.

Overview

Middlebury College recognizes that traditional, same-sex room assignments are not ideal or appropriate for all students.

All-gender housing provides housing options for all students, including those who may identify as transgender, nonbinary, gender nonconforming, or do not wish to prescribe to gender classifications. All-gender housing also decreases heteronormative assumptions regarding housing assignments. In addition, all-gender bathrooms are designated on mixed-gender floors when possible.

All-gender housing applies to all multiple-occupancy rooms on campus. All-gender options cover multiple floors, buildings, and houses such that occupants of all-gender spaces are not segregated to only one or two halls.

Rooms on mixed-gender floors are considered all-gender rooms only when two or more students agree to live together. Students agree to live together when they select a room together during room draw in the spring semester. Students must self-select the all-gender housing option. All-gender housing will never be forced upon a student. If a vacancy occurs in a room on a mixed-gender floor, the room is not treated as an all-gender space. The remaining occupant may pull in a student to maintain the gender status of the room or Residential Life staff will assign a student to the room. The sex of the students will be considered when a vacancy exists in a multiple-occupancy space.

We do not apply our all-gender housing approach to first year students as rooms are only all-gender when students agree to live together.

Terms

The following terms are essential to understanding the all-gender housing policy:

  • Single-Gender: A floor in a residence hall that is designated as for men or women. Single-gender floors exist only in first-year housing in Stewart, Battell, and Allen.
  • Mixed-Gender: A floor in a residence hall for students of any gender. Mixed-gender floors comprise the majority of the College’s housing and are found throughout the campus in the form of residence halls, suites, and small houses.
  • All-Gender: A housing option that allows students to share a room regardless of the students’ sex or gender. Any room in a mixed-gender area (except first-year housing) may be considered all-gender.

Frequently Asked Questions

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All-gender housing is not intended for romantic couples. However, we respect and honor the privacy of our students, so current open housing procedures do not require students to disclose the reason for their roommate requests. Couples of all gender identities and sexual orientations are discouraged from rushing into living together, on or off campus. That is not the intention of this policy. While there are some students who have chosen to live together for that reason, the majority of our all-gender room residents are people who are friends and have similar living habits.

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Students may request room changes by following the normal room change procedures that are published each semester.

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We encourage students to maintain an open dialogue with their families so that families can be supportive of their student’s housing decision. Students over the age of 18 are legally able to make decisions about their housing contracts. Students under 18 should discuss housing plans with their families, as they must provide parental consent.