With Penn’s campus voting overwhelmingly blue in the recent election, it is no surprise that Hillel’s recent addition of a gender-neutral restroom was welcomed with praise. But have more conservative campuses in and around Philadelphia followed suit with this inclusive step?
According to The Villanovan, many single-stalled restrooms on Villanova University’s campus will be stripped of their gender identifiers, rendering the restrooms gender-neutral.
Ryan Rost, Villanova’s Title IX Coordinator, told the Villanovan, “We are committed to providing bathroom facilities that are inclusive and honor the privacy needed in a bathroom… Villanova should be an environment that supports individual differences.”
However, Villanova’s identity as a Jesuit university means the initiative has been met with criticism.
“The decision to install gender inclusive restrooms can be confusing, especially in a Catholic environment," the Villanovan wrote in an article explaining the difference between biological sex and gender identity which included statements from Pope Benedict.
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