( CNN ) -- In the wake of the high-profile suicide of a gay Rutgers University student last fall , the New Jersey college will implement gender-neutral housing in an attempt to make the university more inclusive . Twenty to 30 students will participate in a pilot program during the 2011-12 school year , which will allow students to choose their roommates regardless of gender . Three dormitories in New Brunswick , New Jersey , will be part of the pilot program , a Rutgers spokesman said . Students must apply to live in the gender-neutral rooms , which will be reserved for sophomores , juniors and seniors . `` This has been under discussion for a long time , '' university officials said in a statement . `` In the aftermath of the Clementi tragedy , members of the university 's LGBTQ community told the administration that gender-neutral housing would help create an even more inclusive environment . Since then , the university has been exploring this in greater detail . '' Tyler Clementi , 18 , jumped from the George Washington Bridge in September after two other Rutgers students allegedly videotaped a sexual encounter between him and another man and posted the video online . `` Maybe the outcome would have been different if he had been able to choose his own roommate , '' said Yousef Saleh , 22 , president of the Rutgers University Student Assembly . `` At least now there 's an option . '' Rutgers junior Ryan Harrington , 21 , said the student body has been pushing for gender-neutral housing for years and most students are happy with the university 's decision . `` It gives people more options and it makes people feel safe in their own living environment , '' he said , adding that the issue is especially important for transgender students . Rutgers ' pilot program is a part of a national trend for colleges , said Jeffrey Chang , the co-founder of the National Student Genderblind Campaign , a nonprofit organization that works with college students to develop LGBT policies . Chang estimates that there are 55 universities across the United States that have implemented gender-neutral rooming initiatives . `` I think there definitely has been a really accelerated growth , '' said Chang , who is also a law student at Rutgers . `` Just within the past year , we 've seen 10 schools with gender-neutral housing . '' Several schools , including Ohio University , Emory University and Columbia University will begin allowing co-ed rooming in the fall as well . George Washington University in Washington , D.C. , is another addition to the list of schools that permit gender-neutral housing . Senior Michael Komo , 22 , helped lead the campaign at his school , which will allow students to choose their roommates in all but three all-girls residence halls during the 2011-12 school year . `` These issues have always been there , but they 're finally getting the attention they need and deserve , '' said Komo , who is president of Allied in Pride , a LGBT student organization on campus .
University wants to be more inclusive . About 55 other universities have `` gender-neutral '' housing , organizer says . Rutgers ' impetus was gay student 's suicide .