The College Fix

Referendum: Catholic university should give students choice based on ‘preferred gender’

Georgetown University students just passed a referendum urging the Catholic institution to create “gender inclusive housing” for LGBTQ+ students next year.

The referendum passed with 91 percent of students in favor, according to the results published Friday on X by the Student Association Election Commission. Voter turnout was 31 percent, meaning 2,125 undergraduate students voted at the Washington, D.C. university.

Introduced by Student Association President Jaden Cobb, the document calls on the private Jesuit Catholic university to “allow students to live with students of the preferred gender, allowing them to room in spaces most comfortable and supportive of them.”

The referendum itself does not change campus policies. The Georgetown Board of Directors can choose to accept or reject the recommendation by student leaders.

Cobb told The Hoya student newspaper the results show students want a more inclusive campus.

“It is a testament that Georgetown students care about the LGBTQ+ community and making Georgetown a more inclusive place,” Cobb said. “We will take this to the board of directors where we will fight for the student body to truly make Georgetown a place for all.”

In the referendum, Cobb and other supporters stated it is “not fair” that students looking for on-campus housing “must choose between outing themselves to students they do not know or risk rooming with people who are not accepting of them.”

The situation can cause “significant and unnecessary emotional stress and even physical danger,” according to the referendum.

Liam Moynihan, advocacy director of the student LGBTQ+ group GU Pride, told The Hoya the vote aligns with Jesuit values.

“I think it shows that we really live up to the values that many of us chose, in coming to this school, to follow,” Moynihan said. “It shows that we really care about each other and we really want the best for every single student here.”

The Catholic Church teaches marriage is between one man and one woman. It also teaches people cannot change their sex, and “any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception.”

Georgetown University has faced repeated scrutiny for actions and events that contradict church teachings.

In 2019, its Lecture Fund hosted Dr. Willie Parker, an abortionist who says he performs abortions because he is a Christian, The College Fix reported at the time.

Last year, the university also erected a large mosque for Muslims on campus.

MORE: Georgetown University students approve new fee to fund reparations for slavery

IMAGE: Anthony Blotkin / Shutterstock

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