Erik Youngdahl and Michelle Garcia share a dorm room at Connecticuts Wesleyan University. But they say theres no funny business going on. Really. They mean it.
They have set up their beds side-by-side like Lucy and Ricky in I Love Lucy, and avert their eyes when one of them is changing clothes.
People are shocked to hear that its happening and even that its possible, said Youngdahl, a 20-year-old sophomore. But once you actually live in it, it doesnt actually turn into a big deal.
In the prim 1950s, college dorms were off-limits to members of the opposite sex. Then came the 1970s, when male and female students started crossing paths in coed dormitories. Now, to the astonishment of some Baby Boomer parents, a growing number of colleges are going even further: coed rooms.
At least two dozen schools, including Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania, Oberlin College, Clark University and the California Institute of Technology, allow some or all students to share a room with anyone they choose including someone of the opposite sex. This spring, as students sign up for next years room, more schools are following suit, including Stanford University.
As shocking as it sounds to some parents, some students and schools say its not about sex.
Instead, they say the demand is mostly from heterosexual students who want to live with close friends who happen to be of the opposite sex. Some gay students who feel more comfortable rooming with someone of the opposite sex are also taking advantage of the option.
It ultimately comes down to finding someone that you feel is compatible with you, said Jeffrey Chang, a junior at Clark in Worcester, Mass., who co-founded the National Student Genderblind Campaign, a group that is pushing for gender-neutral housing. Students arent doing this to make a point. Theyre not doing this to upset their parents. Its really for practical reasons.
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