Housing Closed to Gay Couples at UC Berkeley

A proposal to allow homosexual student couples to live in married student housing at UC Berkeley was rejected by the chancellor on grounds that the university is not authorized to recognize unmarried couples.

Chancellor I. Michael Heyman said he also turned down the proposal because married student housing is becoming increasingly scarce--some couples have to wait as long as three years--and making unmarried couples eligible for housing would only aggravate the problem.

He said he would study alternate ways to accommodate both homosexual and heterosexual married couples.

Several student leaders criticized Heyman’s decision, saying the university’s housing policy discriminates against homosexuals. Homosexuals make up about 10% of UC Berkeley’s student population, according to estimates by various student organizations.

“This is a major step backwards,” said Marty Epstein, a student senator and member of the Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual Alliance. “UC’s always set the trends.”

Student Proposal

The proposal, written by several student leaders, including Epstein, would have required same-sex couples to sign an affidavit of domestic partnership similar to a certificate of marriage and to prove that they are financially interdependent. To qualify for residency in UC Berkeley’s two married student housing complexes, applicants must show a marriage license.

The same-sex housing proposal was endorsed by the UC Berkeley student senate and the alliance last semester.

In a letter sent Thursday to the proposal’s authors, Heyman said, “I am aware of no legal authority for the university to create a new class of personal or familial relationships or the sanctioning or recognition of committed personal relationships outside of our existing marriage laws.”

A similar same-sex housing proposal was rejected at UC Irvine last February.