Q Into the New Trend

Depending on a student's childhood, siblings, and upbringing, there are different ways to adjust to the hustle and bustle of the college lifestyle. This is a transition that most Plymouth State University students deal with upon moving in, until now that is.

On-campus residence hall, Pemigewasset, is trying out its first semester of entertaining the floor referred to as "The Q". The Q is located on the first floor of Pemigewasset and is directed towards the gay/lesbian/transgender and ally community.

There are twenty-three current residents of the Q, as well as a waiting list. These rooms are configured of male/male, female/female or male/female students. This option of housing is based on an individual's best match as opposed to gender and has been suggested by students themselves. This, however, does not limit the Q floor only to the gay or transgender community, but community supporters are also permitted to fill out an application to reside in one of these rooms if desired. This trial run is open to anyone from gay or lesbian, students questioning their sexual status, or simply community supporters. An application can be found on Orgsync.com under Residential Life for PSU.

Pemigewasset's Residence Director, Domenica Medaglia-Brown, says her favorite aspect about the community is "the relaxing environment and walking into the hallway and witnessing a homey environment as opposed to a residence hall".  Medaglia-Brown states that all is going well so far, and the only aspect some people are less comfortable with is the gender-neutral bathroom, which can be solved by a flight of stairs to the men and women's bathrooms.

All resident directors, staff members, and night attendants have taken the initiative to be ‘safe-zone trained' in attempt to make this community feel more at home. Safe zone training entices students to be more cautious of their language and word choice to diminish demeaning language, which can be used to offend other students.

The residence hall has gotten beneficial feedback on this new idea in hopes of expanding if entertained by enough students. Students have been reporting the demise of conflict issues and have enjoyed their freedom due to the option to room with people of the same or mixed gender. Medaglia-Brown stated this as one of her favorite aspects "there has always been a narrow playing field due to gender roles and expectations; this allows students to identify their status for a genuine match".

This experiment could easily become a new trend here at PSU and is something to keep your ears open about. Equality and acceptance is contagious and this is one of the first big movements to a different campus.