26 Universities with Coed Dorms Raising Concerns
Living in the dorms. Everyone knows it is a huge part of the college experience. I lived on an all-girls floor at the University of Oklahoma during my freshman year and met my best friends there. I will never forget the late night trips to the ice-cream shop and “The Bachelor” marathons we watched together. I loved my dorm girls more than anything else my freshman year. I cannot imagine what it would have been like if I had gone to Stanford, The University of Chicago, or any of the other 50 universities where co-ed dorm rooms are now available.
As is to be expected, many parents are deeply troubled by this. However, if a boy and a girl are going to be sharing a dorm room, you would at least hope that they wanted that arrangement.
Karin Venable Morin’s daughter is a student at Stanford and she was forced to live in a co-ed dorm room.
“She didn’t ask for this room arrangement,” said Morin. “She missed the room meeting because she had a friend visiting from the East Coast. She appointed a proxy, and said she wanted a room with no smoking… but she didn’t ask for a single-sex room.”
Morin was spending time with one of her friends when the meeting occurred. Since Morin was not there to voice her opinion, she was stuck in a room with another girl and two guys that she did not know. The dorm room is a typical dorm room, which means nobody has their own space. In order to avoid being seen naked, Morin “gets dressed in the bathroom.”
Morin’s daughter was afraid to ask for a room change because she did not want to upset anyone else who lived on the floor. Her parents were not as reserved and went as far as contacting the Stanford Housing Office. Stanford does allow “Gender Neutral” housing, and a change in housing is only considered if a student requests a change. The “Gender Neutral” housing is supposed to be for upperclassmen only. Morin’s dorm was not listed as a “Gender Neutral” dorm. Stanford also never informed parents of this policy.
The following universities have “Gender Neutral” housing:
Coed dorms become more popular as 26 universities adopt them. (via TeamSugar)
California Institute of Technology
University of California-Riverside
My advice: Make sure you know who your roommate is going to be. Make sure your parents know who your roommate is going to be. And then, go to all resident hall meetings so you don’t end up living with someone you are not comfortable with.
Via National Review.