After the undergraduate student councils as well as the Housing Advisory Board passed resolutions in support of the gender-neutral housing policy, the measure now awaits final approval by Vice President for Auxiliary Services Scott Wright. CTV News spoke with Scott Wright to discuss his position on the proposal.

"Students have brought it to us as a way that they feel that housing would be improved and their experience in housing would be enhanced, if it was an option for those students who wanted to live with someone of the opposite gender in a double room," said Wright.

As Columbia refines the details of the new policy, officials are limited in their ability to compare their plan with that of Housing offices at peer institutions.

"Candidly, looking at the way it has been implemented in other areas wouldn't do that much for Columbia. Looking at other institutions has not had a big impact on us. The reason I bring that up is that in other areas, it's been very limited in scope and in some cases, to only juniors and seniors," explained Wright.

Wright also believes that the transition to gender neutral housing can be beneficial to certain groups of students, even if they do not take advantage of the policy.

"Right now, most juniors and seniors live in single rooms, so while it could be attractive for them to room with somebody. That is a possibility in particular areas, like Watt which are two person apartments. The real opportunity, if you look at the way that housing is currently being selected by students, is for sophomores. So, there was not much precedence in the Ivy League or Ivy plus group for what the students have proposed to Columbia," commented Wright.

Students complimented the joint effort between student groups, student government, and administration in cooperatively developing the policy.

"The administration has been extraordinarily cooperative and they really put in a lot of effort to not only just work with us, but also to understand the terms and whom the policy affect. Dean Scully-Kromm and Housing & Dining have been fantastic so far," said Barry Weinberg (Treasurer, EAHH)

If implementation of the policy remains on schedule, gender-neutral housing should be available this coming spring, just in time for the 2010-2011 room selection process. Nevertheless, the full impact that this will have on the Columbia community remains to be seen.