Co-ed housing in college dormitories has gained more and more popularity within the last fifteen years. It used to be that boys and girls were only allowed to live in separate wings or floors of a dormitory. Today, society has come so far as to let boys and girls live together not only on the same floor, but in the same room! Harvard University, Brown University and Clark University are some of the many colleges that are allowing boys and girls to live in the same room together. The residence life staff here at Merrimack College believes that Merrimack will not see co-ed rooms for a VERY long time, do to our Catholic background. Public Universities however, are more likely to see this type of diversity in its dormitories.
What do you think about this idea of boys and girls living together? For those of you who live in ASH Dormitory, you may already live next to a room full of the opposite sex. Those of you in the Deegans, how do you like the way boys and girls are separated by floor? Do you think co-ed housing is a good idea?
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I believe co-ed housing in college dormitories is not a good idea. College is for learning and to gain a high education. There are already so many distractions with sports, partying, and relationships. Adding guys and girls living together will only add more of a distraction and take away from the main purpose of college. I believe dormitories especially for freshman should remain separated by sex. Especially in regards to Merrimack which is a Catholic college, co-ed dormitories would really go against what we stand for. Right now I live in Deegan East and am on the guys side of the hall. I must say it is already weird enough walking to the bathroom at night in my pjs, I can't imagine actually sharing a room.If a guy and a girl really want to live together while they are in college they should do so in an off campus apartment.
ReplyDeleteI agree with tiernoa. Boys and girls do enough together in college without having to live together on top of it all. Colleges have enough to deal with in partying and other situations that may get attention in the media. If colleges begin allowing boys and girls to live in the same dorm, they will just have more troubles on their hands and unwanted attention. If college students want to try out living with a boy so badly, then they should try and live off of campus, even then, they may realize that it is just not for them and they can move back. Living next to a dorm of the opposite sex is acceptable, but not mixing sexes in the same room, that seems to be too much. College is what you make of it, because you are paying for it. If you don't want to live with a boy, don't, and if you feel strongly about it, share your word with the school's admin.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both these posts. I think there are too many factors in order for boys and girls living together to work. I think having co-ed suites would be one thing since they'd have separate rooms but I think having boys and girls share a room would cause a lot of arguments since boys and girls have such different views. I know there are some guys I wouldn't mind living with but others I know I couldn't. I think the school would face too many complaints and people wanting to switch rooms to make it worthwhile. Like tiernoa said, get an apartment off campus if you want to live in co-ed living arrangements. As a freshman, I think boys and girls should live in separate rooms but, I think it could work in Santagati, the townhouses, and the apartments because there are more bathrooms and more living area.
ReplyDeleteI like living on a floor that is co-ed. I live in ash and I have found that I like the diversity of having boys and girls living closely together on the same floor. I understand Merrimack's catholic ideals and agree that boys and girls living in the same room is probably not necessary. In deegan I can see why the floors are separated by gender because there are common bathrooms for the floor. I think that the suite style living that can be found in ash is more suited for having boys and girls living on the same floor.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Merrimack's catholic policies do not allow people of the opposite sex to stay in the same room, the reality of the situation is that if you want to....you can get away with it. I guess the question then becomes...should the school acknowledge and concede to co-ed housing?
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion co-ed housing could cause a lot of problems for people. If a couple is living together and then all of a sudden they break up...then what happens? Do they just fight for the rest of the year while each is bringing home new boyfriends/girlfriends? Or will faculty have to deal with the constant re-assignment of roommates? To be honest I think it is easiest the way things are. In Ash, where there are both boys and girls on the same floor, we get enough diversity while still having certain privacies and restrictions.
If you want someone of the opposite sex to stay over...it really isn't a big deal. So why should there be a big push to get co-ed rooms when we can practically do it now?
I think that it is a good idea. We are adults when we enter college. Why can't we make adult decisions? I personally have many male friends and would not mind dorming with any of them. Sure the problem of boyfriends and girlfriends breaking up is present, but that's life. After all, one of the fundamental aspects of college is the ability to choose for ourselves. Why can't choosing a room mate be part of that?
ReplyDeleteI do not think that co-ed's living in the same room is a good idea. I think it is ok and acceptable to live on the same floor as the opposite sex or even next to a room of the opposite sex, but I believe that in this point in time we are not ready for co-ed dorming. No girl or boy could ever be completely comfortable livign with the opposite sex unless that person was their boyfriend or girlfriend. I do not think it should be encouraged to have students having the oppurtunity to make unwise decisions or to feel like they have no privacy at all. If it continues to be allowed, then someone who is completely not comfotable living with the opposite sex will be forced to do so. I believe that living in a dorm with another girl or another boy is a big enough transition for students without having to deal with sexual tension and an extreme case of no privacy.
ReplyDeleteI think the living situations at Merrimack are set up well. I live in Deegan and my floor is separated by hallway. There are boys and girls on my floor so I am able to interact with both genders. However, if as a freshman I was placed in a suite or a room where I would be living with both boys and girls I think I would be a little taken aback.
ReplyDeleteI look at it this way. Say my female roommate and I both developed a crush on the male living in our room? Or say I need to have girl talk...can I just kick the male roommate out of the room?
I think Sarah put it into perspective well by saying what if two roommates started dating and then broke up. They would still have to deal with the awkwardness.
Although living with the opposite sex is a "real life" situation- many times couples don't move in together until they know that they can handle living with eachother.
I don't think that co-ed housing is the best idea. I agree with that if a couple wants to room together they can get an off campus apartment. I live in Deegan West and I love how the guys are on a seperate floor. They are louder and the guys halls always have a funky smell. I like that it can be quiet and I can get some sleep in my dorm room because the floor is all girls. I also like that I can go to the bathroom in my pajamas and not be self concious about the boys on their floor. I feel that co-ed housing would also be a distraction. It would also cause housing issues because when couples who are housing together get in fights, they would need to switch rooms constantly. I think that co-ed dorms is a good idea but not living in the same rooms.
ReplyDeleteI think that the housing situation at Merrimack works. I feel that boys and girls are very different and live differntly. Girls tend to be cleaner and quieter and mixing them with the loud dirty boys would probably cause a lot of avoidable issues. I like being surrounded by girls and have become comfortable around them. If I want to see the boys its a short walk downstairs that I don't mind taking. I feel that living with boys in close quarters would be uncomfortable. While I feel living with boys down the hall is acceptable sharing rooms with them is inappropriate and would definitely cause problems between floor mates.
ReplyDeleteI don't see what the problem would be with co-ed dorm rooms. I think that we are all old and mature enough to handle living with a member of the opposite sex. Although like you said, we wont see this for a long time because we are a Catholic school, I think that eventually it will happen.
ReplyDeleteIt also surprised me that Harvard and Brown already have co-ed dorms. I assumed that because these were prestigious ivy league schools that they would be some of the last to have these. However, if the co-ed dorms work out in these schools I think the idea will spread to other colleges.
Like many others, I believe that introducing co-ed rooms into the college and university housing situation can potentially cause many problems. I agree with ksuliveras who said that boys and girls tend to live much differently. I love my guy friends, but I know that I could never deal with a roommate who is constantly playing video games, just as males probably don't want to deal with a girl who spends much of her time watching "girly" tv shows. I'm not saying that same sex roommates don't usually have different interests, I'm just saying that we all have a better idea of what to expect from a roommate of the same sex.
ReplyDeleteThere is also the issue of privacy in your room. Because we're surrounded by others all the time inside and outside of class, our rooms are the only places that we can go to get a bit of privacy. I wouldn't feel comfortable changing in my own room if I had a male roommate. If our bathrooms and locker rooms are kept separate, why should our living situation be any different?
Having a Co-ed dorm is a very compelling thought, especially in the eyes of horny teenagers recently freed from parental control. Although I think that we are adults, most of us were only just released from the watchful, and rather wise, custody of our parents. A lot of fresh college students take advantage of this and make poor decisions, especially in regards to sexual pursuits.
ReplyDeleteLike mentioned before, I feel that co-ed dorms would be more of a distraction. In most cases, sexual tension would absolutely exist, creating for uncomfortable living situations. Attraction is an inevitable and complicating issue. Relationships can form and separate. If the roommates have sex, and one of the two expects a relationship and the other, nothing, than there is also a problem. If one of the roommates develops feelings for the other, and the other is either unaware or uninterested, this can be torture for the other that has to witness their crush's relationships.
I live in Ash, on a co-ed floor and I love it. I’ve always had a lot of guy friends and enjoy the easy access to male companionship, found just down the hall or a doorstop away. But I also live in a suite, with all female roommates and our own bathrooms.
It may be a generalization, but I think that people would become more self-conscious. Girls and boys alike may be embarrassed about having their underwear around the room, going in and out of showers and general bathroom use. People should be able to feel comfortable when they are at home. You should feel free from restraint or judgment. Without gender-stereotyping the typical female and male living habits, I feel that in general, students would feel most comfortable living directly with members of their own sex.
I personally like the idea of co-ed living by floor, not by room. I live in deegan east and I live on a co-ed floor. I really like this set up because it allows for more opportunities to branch out. If you live on a floor with only your sex, you may only become friends with those people. With the opposite sex living on the same floor, it makes for more interaction with others. My entire floor has become very good friends and we have had no problems with the subject of a co-ed floor. I feel as if it may even cause people to mature quicker. You have to be aware of the people on your floor and know how they will react to your actions. With co-ed roommates, I do not think that is a very good idea. I feel as if it could pose as a distraction or cause people to not act as themselves. It may make them ant to impress the other person.
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