Will KU get on the bandwagon?
Recently a handful of universities have been allowing members of the opposite sex to share dorm rooms. At first it is kind of shocking, but when you think about it there is some sense to it.
I find it interesting that in the 50s, most dorms were off limits to members of the opposite sex. Then came the 70s where dorms became scandalously coed and now a step even further- coed rooms.
This came as a result of those wanting to live with good friends and people students felt comfortable living with. This also accommodates some homosexuals who feel uncomfortable living with those of the same sex. Either the way, some universities find that finding someone compatible to live with is difficult, and sex should not have to be a determining factor.
However there is some cases known as "roomcest", in which couples reside together. Clearly this is up to each individual couple, but I personally don't find it to be the brightest idea.
I don't know if I would feel comfortable sharing a room with someone of the opposite sex, but college is a time to explore and learn valuable life lessons. Perhaps, this is the way of the future which could produce positive results such as less gender discrimination in the work place. Who knows? Any thoughts?
While yes times have changed significantly since the 1950’s, I still don’t know if it is to the point of coed rooms. The fact of the matter is that girls and guys have very different lifestyles. College, while it is a place to try new things and push the limits a little bit, having a coed room I feel would actually distract from the college experience. Different schedules, routines, as well as the level of respect and space one shows for the other differ greatly in the mind of guys and girls.
Then there is the obvious point that, while yes friends, there is nothing stopping them from hooking up or forming so kind of attachment to the other that could result in a great degree of distraction. When being introduced to a new environment such as going to college and living in dorm away from home, I would think you would want to limit the number distractions you may encounter as much as possible, not add to them.
I agree that coed rooms would be a distraction. A number of situations would arise when members of the oposite sex share a room... think about it. This is not to say that college students couldn't handle living with someone of the oposite sex, but I think dorm life is meant to be a transition into independent living, and adding a roommate of the oposite sex would be a drastic transition. Besides, most dorms house members of both sexes.
It's an interesting idea, and I think it's great there are some universities who are ready for that. I feel like it will be some time before KU would adopt that policy. I think prospective students' parents would be particularly concerned about this possibility. I do like that it is sensitive to the needs of the homosexual community though.
I don't think this would be a good idea at all. In agreement with what Lauren said, it would be too drastic of a change as a freshman coming to college. Also, I don't know what parents would allow their child to do that. While I have never lived with anyone around my age of the opposite sex, I can imagine that it would be really hard and probably alot of disagreements about things. It will be an interesting experiment, but I don't feel like it will succeed.