Every fall parents pack up their children and send them off to college, ready to take that first step in letting their kids become independent adults. Students spend the summer picking out room décor, buying school supplies, and exchanging e-mails or phone calls with their soon-to-be roommates. Not much has changed except now those future roomies may or may not share the same anatomy. More and more colleges are offering co-ed rooming and for good reason.
We all know it’s inevitable for Mars and Venus to eventually shack up, but is it premature for men and women to live together at the tender age of eighteen? Housing administrators at some colleges say no, as they have begun allowing co-ed rooming in their dormitories.
Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi committed suicide after a video of him having sex with his boyfriend went viral by the hands of his roommate in the fall of 2010. This prompted Rutgers University to implement a co-ed rooming option for gay and lesbian students who may be more comfortable sharing a room with the opposite sex. Schools that have already offered co-ed rooming to their students include Swarthmore College and Wesleyan University. Could Temple University be next?
According to Director of Residential Life, Kevin Williams, Temple is not ruling out the possibilities. “University Housing & Residential Life is open to the idea of exploring co-ed housing. The outcome and timing would be based on need and the approval of senior administration and our Board of Trustees,” he said.
Some students are in accordance with the possibility of boy-girl roommates. Deione Sydnor, a senior, says, “It’s not much different than co-ed floors so it’s not a bad idea.”
As you probably know, Temple’s dorms are already gender mixed by floors and the arrangement has worked out successfully through the years.
Junior Sara Rooney says, “There would be less drama with students of the opposite sex living together.” But before you revel in the thought of no longer arguing over missing clothes or sharing your flat iron, consider that some people disagree with the idea.
Not everyone is gung ho about the changing times. “The one concern I would have is, if it’s my daughter living with her boyfriend, I wouldn’t want her to be distracted from her schoolwork,” said Lisa Pate, whose daughter is a sophomore in college. “Also, is the institution prepared to deal with relationships that go sour?”
Temple does allow a period of time for room changes if it’s necessary, but no one can predict if mixing genders will spark an increase in switches. Having boy-girl rooms could create conflict when choosing room themes, having friends over, or simply changing clothes. There is a level of camaraderie that wouldn’t necessarily come as easily as sharing a room with the same sex, but that’s no reason not to give it a try!
At the end of the day, it’s important to respect your roommate’s space, regardless of whether he is a boy or she is a girl. Now go hug your roommate!