CHAPEL HILL-On Wednesday, WCHL reported that UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp has, for the time being, rejected a proposal that would allow gender neutral housing on UNC’s campus.  Now, Thorp is speaking out about how he came to his decision—and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Winston Crisp is explaining why he does support the idea.

“We want to talk to a number of folks who are external to the university before we go forward,” Thorp says.

The proposal was originally drafted by a group of students in the campus Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Center known as the Gender Nonspecific Coalition. It would have allowed students in of the opposite gender, including those in the gay, bisexual, and lesbian communities, to live together in the same suites or rooms in 32 spaces within two designated campus buildings.

The group presented the initiative to the office of Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Winston Crisp; he says he was in support of the idea.

“My recommendation was to do it on a pilot basis that would engage some of the issues around safety and inclusivity that the proposal addressed.”

On Monday, Thorp sent a memo to Crisp’s office indicating that he needed to further discuss the proposal with the university’s external figures, including parents, alumni, and governing officials, before he could make any final decisions.

Thorp says he wants to make sure everyone understands the intentions behind the proposition.

“It’s for student safety, it’s an opt-in proposal and it’s limited to a small number of people,” he says. “We need to make sure before we implement it is that folks understand that’s what it’s about, and not some other misconceptions that they might have.”

Meanwhile, Crisp says another one of the Chancellor’s concerns is the timing of the student housing cycle.

“We’d be unable to get that done in time to set this up for next year,” he says. “My hope is that we can do all the education the Chancellor would like to see, have everyone fully understand what we’re doing in time for the next housing cycle.”

Although he understands the Chancellor’s apprehensions, Crisp says he’ll continue to work in support of the proposal.

“My commitment is to try to make sure we have an environment where everyone has an equal shot at success,” he says. “To me, that begins with feeling safe and included. There are segments of our community where we struggle, and this particular proposal is aimed at improving that.”

LGBTQ Center Director Terri Phoenix also says the initiative is an issue of student safety and comfort.

“A 2010 study looked at how people made decisions about where they went to college,” he says. “The fourth highest loading  factor was whether the college was gay friendly. One way people look to assess that is the presence of gender nonspecific housing.”

Some have denounced the proposal would also allow heterosexual students to live together in one dorm. But Phoenix says those concerns don’t have significant merit.

“I’ve heard a lot of people express concerns about the proposal encouraging heterosexual couples to live in sin,” she says. “When I did the research looking at our peer institutions, they said that was a tiny percentage of people taking advantage of the program.”

Click here to read the full memo from Thorp to Crisp’s office.