Optional Housing Request Process for Gender Inclusive Housing at Kenyon

Kenyon believes that a major feature of attending a residential college is the opportunity for all students to live with one another. As such, all students enrolled at Kenyon are required to live in College housing and enroll in the meal plan.

General Information

The Office of Residential Life is both committed to cultivating safe and inclusive living communities and offering a number of different housing options for students. This includes single, double, and triple occupancy rooms in traditional halls, and single and double occupancy rooms in apartments/houses. The majority of these residential spaces (78 percent) are not designated by sex and/or gender and allow students to be placed, or select to live, in residential spaces with the roommate(s) of their choice. The remaining spaces, designated as women-only and men-only, are available to students, based upon their self-selected gender identity.

While there are a number of different housing options available, the Office of Residential Life and Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion recognize that transgender, non-binary, and/or questioning students may have specific needs that may not be fully represented on the First-Year/Transfer Housing Form, or may be more difficult to meet when participating in the housing lottery. As such, Kenyon College has developed a Gender Inclusive Housing Request Form to provide additional options so the College may better understand and meet individual student’s needs.

Guiding Values for Gender Inclusive Housing at Kenyon

1. Respectful affirmation of each student’s gender identity and gender expression;
2. Prioritized attention for each student’s specific needs, as they relate to physical safety, mental health
   and overall well-being;
3. Opportunities for greater accessibility and inclusion with particular attention to specific needs of each
   transgender, non-binary, and/or questioning student; and a
4. Desire to reiterate the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Kenyon College community.

Gender Inclusive Housing Request Process

Students requesting a housing assignment as part of the Gender Inclusive Housing Request Process must do
so each academic year. Kenyon will accept and consider such requests at any time; however,
students must complete and submit the form by the following deadlines to ensure the greatest number of
housing options for the specified term and/or remainder of the academic year.

*Students with disabilities should follow the process for ADA Housing Accommodations and share any specific housing requests they have regarding their gender identity during the interactive process with the Director of Student Accessibility and Support Services (SASS). The Director of SASS will consult with the Office of Residential Life and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, as needed, to consider these specific requests.

Should a specific need occur during a current term and/or after one of the aforementioned dates, students should complete the Gender Inclusive Housing Request Form as soon as possible. The College will make every reasonable effort to address these specific needs, but cannot guarantee that a new housing assignment will be reasonable or feasible for the current and/or upcoming term, if a request is received after the stated deadlines.

Submitting a Gender Inclusive Housing Request Form does not guarantee a specific housing assignment, but it does provide additional information that can inform the options that are available for students. Students must complete the form and receive approval before engaging in any housing assignment changes related to the request.

Gender Inclusive Housing Request Process Steps

1. Students choosing to participate in this process must complete and submit a Gender Inclusive Housing Request Form to the Office of Residential Life. 
2. Once the Office of Residential Life receives a Gender Inclusive Housing Request Form, the Office of
   Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will contact the student, in writing, to set-up a meeting (generally within
   5 business days of when the form was submitted).
3. The student will then meet with the Associate Director of Housing and Operations (or their designee)
   and the Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (or their designee) to discuss the need and
   scope of the request and potential housing options.
4. The Office of Residential Life will then contact the student, in writing, with their specific housing
   assignment (generally within 10 business days of when the form was submitted). Students must accept
   their housing placement, in writing, within 5 business days of the date of their housing assignment
   letter. Should a student not accept the housing assignment, upperclass students will then be able to
   participate in the campus-wide housing lottery.

Additional Information

Students must complete a Gender Inclusive Housing Request Form for the academic term(s) for which they
are requesting a housing accommodation. Kenyon College reserves the right to revise this process at any
time, as circumstances require.

Current or prospective students who may have questions about this process should contact the Office of
Residential Life at reslife@kenyon.edu and/or the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at
odei@kenyon.edu.