Among excitement, Cass Henriques’ admittance to the University of Wisconsin-Madison two years ago brought with it a great deal of anxiety and a mounting list of uncertainties, atop which loomed questions of where he would live freshman year.
Navigating the transition from high school to college often proves challenging for incoming freshmen, but for Henriques, a trans man, concerns of privacy and safety were amplified by his gender identification. By identifying as a transgender individual, he did not fit neatly into the widely accepted social notion that a clear binary between male and female exists.
Henriques spent much of that summer conducting research, mulling over various housing options and “trekking” to Madison from Minnesota to speak with a Division of University Housing faculty member, until he finally found his new home in Phillips Hall. Located in the Lakeshore neighborhood, Phillips Hall offers its residents co-ed floors and private bathrooms.
“We found Phillips and thought that was great because, wow, it’s just your own bathroom,” Henriques said.
Despite the residence hall’s inclusive features, Henriques said the process was frustrating for both him and his parents.
“There should be: One, more options for this and, two, why do you have to pay so much more to live here?” he said. “It should be accommodating, not [requiring] you to pay a whole extra grand or whatever.”
Virginia Olin, a University Housing assignment coordinator, understood Henriques’ grievances but acknowledged there is currently no infrastructure in place to aid students financially on this matter.
“Even though Phillips might cost more, the student may weigh it out and say, ‘Well, you know, unfortunately that is the cost of being me,’” Olin said. “And that’s hard, that’s really hard.”
While Phillips Hall seemed like the best option for Henriques that year, his search for a single room closer to the heart of campus led him to his present residence at Susan B. Davis Hall, where he again pays a higher housing rate due to the dormitory’s unique features.
Though he said he enjoys the benefits of having his own space, other concerns have arisen.
“Great, I have a single room, but the communal bathroom situation is awful. You walk into the shower and there’s [just] a shower curtain,” he said, referring to the showers’ lack of locking doors. “I just think you need to overhaul all the dorms everywhere to be more safe and more assured.”
While shower security may be an issue in a handful of the older dorms, Olin said all newer residence halls feature a single-stall bathroom on the floor to ensure residents’ comfort and allow them to perform daily functions at ease.
Additionally, in an effort to expand safe spaces for non-binary students, the university launched the Open House Gender Learning Community, situated on the fourth floor of Phillips Hall, at the beginning of the 2013-’14 academic school year.
As part of Open House, students take a one-credit seminar centered on issues of gender and sexuality to open up a dialogue and look at these topics through a new lens, according to Residence Life Coordinator Jon Tingley.
This year, Open House, one of the most diverse housing communities on campus, is home to 48 residents of different races, ages and gender identifications. Perhaps if he had started school a year later, Open House would have been a viable option for Henriques during his first year as well.
Learning community or not, Henriques said he believes the biggest challenge for trans* students on campus is the scarcity of accommodating facilities.
“Phillips is great and that whole Open House is amazing, but that shouldn’t be the only option. Like, Phillips [is] in a different time zone,” he joked. “We need one of those here on this side of campus, too.”
While Open House is the only community of its kind on campus, Olin assured there are multiple opportunities for non-binary students to feel comfortable in most campus buildings and said she and her colleagues often work one-on-one with students to find the best option.
Ultimately, Olin said she has the same goal for all students.
“I think it’s helping people have a greater sense of awareness of someone’s humanity,” she said. “That’s really what it is: making sure that people always remember that we’re talking about people and lives and fellow college students and fellow Badgers.”
As for Henriques, he said he believes there will be a “revolution” in terms of gender awareness and acceptance within the coming years, much to the benefit of future generations.
“I just hope when my kids head off to college that the things that are on the forefront of their mind is ‘Wow, I can’t wait to go lay out on Bascom’ instead of ‘Wow, where am I living and how am I gonna be safe?’” he said.
