University of Kansas scholarship hall K.K. Amini opened its doors to both male and female residents heading into the fall semester, making it the first co-ed scholarship hall community at the University.
Christian Espinoza, president of the All Scholarship Hall Council, believes this could open up new doors for residents of varying gender identities and hopes this will improve student interest in scholarship halls.
“We are thrilled it is now finally an option,” Espinoza said. “It opens doors for many new residents to come find a new area where they can feel comfortable and just be able to join this close-knit community of 50 or less residents in each hall.”
Approximately 16 women who showed interest in joining a scholarship hall for the 2018-2019 academic year were placed on a waiting list, Espinoza said. Rather than reject those women, a decision was finalized by KU Housing, Espinoza said, for 16 of the 48 slots in K.K. Amini to be given to those interested women in July.
“We didn’t want to turn [the 16 women] down, of course,” Espinoza said. “We wanted to be able to accommodate for them, and make sure they could be included in our community.”
K.K. Amini co-ed lounge area, K.K. Amini is one of the University's first co-ed scholarship halls.
Megan Wetherington, a freshman from Gardner, is one of the women currently living in K.K. Amini. The co-ed situation hasn’t been abnormal to her thus far, she said.
“It seems to be going really well,” she said. “It’s fun and we’re talking with everyone.”
Since K.K. Amini already had suite-style rooms with private bathrooms, Espinoza said this removed any concerns that could potentially arise from co-ed communal showers. Thus, implementing co-ed living was the “perfect option” that could be provided for residents, Esponiza said.
During the spring semester of 2018, it was announced 552 students were living in scholarship halls in a report by the Office of Institutional Research and Planning, a decrease from previous semesters. Due to this decrease, Espinoza said this new type of community living could maybe attract new students to move into scholarship halls.
“As the president of the All Scholarship Hall Council, my main goal on the agenda for the next year is to expose this hidden gem at the University of Kansas,” Espinoza said.
