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‘All-gender’ bathrooms were based on ‘researching best practices’ for dorms: university spokesperson
All of the complaints about new “gender neutral” bathrooms, including showers, in a dorm at Michigan State University came from female residents, prompting the public institution to revert some of them back to single-sex spaces this fall, according to a survey obtained by The College Fix.
The survey of the Campbell Hall residents, which The Fix received through an open records request, revealed a series of comments by female students expressing discomfort at the lack of women-only bathrooms.
The honors residence hall recently was renovated and re-opened for the fall semester. The renovations included making all the bathrooms, including shower areas, “gender neutral.” However, the university later turned some bathrooms back into single-sex spaces after receiving complaints, The Fix reported in November.
A number of complaints came from a survey the university distributed to the residents, asking about the overall dorm renovations. The survey, which The Fix obtained this month, had a response rate of 28 percent, meaning 70 student residents responded.
In a section where students’ comments were broken down by sex, several female residents complained about sharing bathrooms with men.
“I think there shouldn’t just be gender neutral bathrooms,” one comment read.
Another female student wrote, “I think that it is weird to have ‘gender inclusive’ bathrooms when no other dorm is like this across the entirety of campus.”
“For the dorm to be specifically honors housing, and the building rennovated I feel that we should at least have separate boys and girls bathrooms. There also being only one private stall that I know of is also absurd, because if boys and girls are sharing bathroom spaces it would make them more private to have these private stalls having everything one would need in a bathroom,” another commented.
In agreement, another student wrote that she “would prefer men’s and women’s bathrooms” because it “is uncomfortable to share a bathroom with men.”
Another student used the word “uncomfortable” and said “it would be nice to have at least one bathroom for only women.”
However, one female resident commented, “I LOVE the coed bathrooms and I believe that is the best part of the building.”
None of the comments from male students mentioned the “gender neutral” bathrooms.
Since the survey, the university has reverted some of the bathrooms in the residence hall to single-sex spaces.
Kat Cooper, a spokesperson for Michigan State, told The Fix last week that the initial “decision to implement more private stall, all-gender bathroom options was based upon researching best practices in construction and renovation of residence halls, and in consultation with students during Honors College feedback sessions the prior year.”
When asked if the bathroom situation had prompted any students to move, Cooper said no.
She also said that since changing some of the bathrooms back to single-sex, “some students have expressed disappointment in, frustration in the reduction of all-gender bathrooms.”
“We have communicated that our goals have been to offer gendered and all-gender options, selecting bathroom designations that align with this year’s current housing occupancy so that we do not need to require any room moves,” she said.
Meanwhile, the decision to restore single-sex bathrooms drew praise from a feminist group that advocates for female-only spaces.
Lauren Bone, legal director for the Women’s Liberation Front, told The Fix in a recent email that her organization is “pleased they partly reversed that decision.”
“If schools do choose to create unisex bathrooms, they should do so by converting men’s rooms, and leave the same number of women’s rooms. In addition to safety concerns of sharing intimate spaces, women have more bathroom needs, including to deal with menstruation,” she said.
Bone shared that, “We hope that other schools will learn from their experience and make sure women are offered private spaces to use the bathroom and shower.”
MORE: Yale Law converts two restrooms to ‘all-gender’ for LGBT students
