Gearing Up for Coed College Dorms

College students around the country have long lamented the fact that most dorms are separated by gender. Those who would prefer to live with a friend of the opposite sex -- or a significant other -- have had to make do by finding off-campus housing. A new trend is springing up on college campuses, however, and many administrations are now allowing coed college dorms.

Coed college dorms are a blessing for some students and a curse for others, depending on the situation. Approximately twenty institutions, including the University of Pennsylvania and Colorado College, will be allowed coed dorms in the fall of 2007. Not only do students have the option of rooming with a friend or significant other of the opposite sex, but they can also opt for gender-neutral random assignment. In the fall of 2006, many students were outraged to discover that when they filled out the form for random assignment, they had also given the institution the option of pairing them with someone of the opposite gender.

Those in favor of coed college dorms claim that this situation gives couples the opportunity to learn how to co-habitate without the stress of paying bills or maintaining a property. It also promotes a more integrated living situation where men and women don't have to part ways after a certain hour if they don't want to go out. Of course, this goes well beyond shared living quarters; living with someone of the opposite sex is often a rude awakening.

For one thing, coed college dorms have not been updated to give separate bathrooms, which can create an uncomfortable situation in the morning when students are getting ready for school. Many students are comfortable sleeping three feet away from someone of the opposite sex, but it's something else entirely to be sitting on the toilet, wondering if that other person is going to walk in. Furthermore, students may not realize the difficulties of changing clothes or attending to other personal matters in the close quarters of a coed college dorm.