The best possible solution for this and all problems is to have dormitories follow a multi-bedroom approach rather than putting multiple people into studio apartments.
Fuck, even studio apartments are generally larger than 10'x16'.
The fact is that it is uncommon in any part of society for two people of different genders to share a room unless they are in a romantic arrangement or siblings.
Really, two people sharing a room period unless romantically involved or siblings is pretty damn uncommon. You've got college dorms, military barracks, the occasional college apartment (there were four girls living in the three-bedroom apartment next to us), and perhaps among the extremely poor. Hell, even most brokeass people I knew sharing apartments tried to keep a 1:1 bedroom to person ratio...and in the one instance I knew of where two dudes were sharing a bedroom in an apartment it was bigger than 10'x16'.
EDIT: And, apparently, gay guys. I was not aware of this.
EDIT: Oh, VC may or may not have been referring to gay guys paired with straight guys in one of the above arrangements. Either way, shared rooms are still damn uncommon, mixed gender (or sexuality) or not.
Assigning same-sex roommates to dormitories would increase liability at schools and parents wouldn't like it. How hard is that. The fact is that it is uncommon in any part of society for two people of different genders to share a room unless they are in a romantic arrangement or siblings. I don't know why anyone would think that running this kind of social experiment on 18 year-olds would be anything close to a good idea.
It's not unusual for gay guys to share a room with another guy they're not romantically involved with or related to, though.
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Irond WillWARNING: NO HURTFUL COMMENTS, PLEASE!!!!!Cambridge. MAModeratormod
Assigning same-sex roommates to dormitories would increase liability at schools and parents wouldn't like it. How hard is that. The fact is that it is uncommon in any part of society for two people of different genders to share a room unless they are in a romantic arrangement or siblings. I don't know why anyone would think that running this kind of social experiment on 18 year-olds would be anything close to a good idea.
It's not unusual for gay guys to share a room with another guy they're not romantically involved with or related to, though.
Outside of college it is, and in college it's just a happenstance resulting from the fact that college arrangements seemingly don't recognize that students might be gay. Sharing a room with another human being is already kind of a strange thing in our culture - I don't really see why it would be in any way a good idea to intentionally complicate it.
Sharing a room with another human being is already kind of a strange thing in our culture - I don't really see why it would be in any way a good idea to intentionally complicate it.
I'm going to go ahead and suggest that outside of a couple limited circumstances where people are forced into shared bedrooms by policies outside of their control (college, military, prison) it is vanishingly rare for two adult human beings who are not having sex to share a sleeping space.
Assigning same-sex roommates to dormitories would increase liability at schools and parents wouldn't like it. How hard is that. The fact is that it is uncommon in any part of society for two people of different genders to share a room unless they are in a romantic arrangement or siblings. I don't know why anyone would think that running this kind of social experiment on 18 year-olds would be anything close to a good idea.
It's not unusual for gay guys to share a room with another guy they're not romantically involved with or related to, though.
Outside of college it is, and in college it's just a happenstance resulting from the fact that college arrangements seemingly don't recognize that students might be gay. Sharing a room with another human being is already kind of a strange thing in our culture - I don't really see why it would be in any way a good idea to intentionally complicate it.
Then don't opt to room with a girl. I sure wouldn't.
I think one of my main issues with the whole coed dorm idea is that, at best, it's being offered as a fix to issues (gay students, people preferring to room with close friends who are not of same gender, etc) that are better addressed by not forcing students to share prison cells. That, coupled with the idea that it might increase the odds of other complications (no, not just talking about rape) make me think that it is perhaps not the wisest idea. Better to address the root problem, not just experiment with policies that might improve some situations, make others worse, who the hell knows.
Now, if we started building college dorms that were more like multiple 6'x8' single-occupancy rooms adjoining some common space, then I say mix and match gender as you please. And most of my objections to forced residency requirements would go away as well.
EDIT: Of course, addressing the real problem would cost a lot of money, whereas this can be disguised as "olol progress!" So coed dorm rooms it is, I guess.
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MrMisterJesus dying on the cross in pain? Morally better than us. One has to go "all in".Registered Userregular
I don't know why anyone would think that running this kind of social experiment on 18 year-olds would be anything close to a good idea.
Perhaps because they actually live in that arrangement, and have found it to be unproblematic? I live in a dorm that allows co-ed rooms. It's awesome. I'm pretty skeptical of claims that the sky would fall, since from where I'm standing it looks like it's still up there.
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MrMisterJesus dying on the cross in pain? Morally better than us. One has to go "all in".Registered Userregular
I think one of my main issues with the whole coed dorm idea is that, at best, it's being offered as a fix to issues (gay students, people preferring to room with close friends who are not of same gender, etc) that are better addressed by not forcing students to share prison cells.
So, you think that rooms should both be coed and be suite-style? Cool, I guess.
Man, what the fuck are you guys complaining about? Living on campus for one year isn't that bad.
I'm pretty sure it was exactly as bad as I described (well, worse actually, but I'm leaving out the people-problems) and I'm not sure how you think you'd be in a position to judge otherwise.
I lived in a 7 by 12 room that was so small I had to take down my bed and sleep on my matress on the floor, then prop it up on the wall during the day just to be able to move. It's a running joke between my fiance and I whenever we see a prison cell on TV, that we compare it to that room and my dorm room almost always comes up short.
I, however, loved the experience. I was a transfer student and didn't even have to live in the dorms, but I chose to, because you gain so much. It's part of the college experience. Also, don't most schools not even make you live on campus the entire year, just a semester.
Dorms were pretty amazing if you lived with the right people.
My first two years of university were hell.
Junior year = one of the most amazing social experiences of my life. I lived in a pretty small dorm with an amazing roommate. Everyone on the floor knew each other and hung out in the lounge or in each others rooms - it was like living in a hotel with a bunch of awesome people.
Senior year = even better than junior year.
First two years sucked cause as a non-drinker, it was hard for me to get up, get out, and make friends. But it all worked out in the end.
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Irond WillWARNING: NO HURTFUL COMMENTS, PLEASE!!!!!Cambridge. MAModeratormod
I don't know why anyone would think that running this kind of social experiment on 18 year-olds would be anything close to a good idea.
Perhaps because they actually live in that arrangement, and have found it to be unproblematic? I live in a dorm that allows co-ed rooms. It's awesome. I'm pretty skeptical of claims that the sky would fall, since from where I'm standing it looks like it's still up there.
Is the question whether they should allow different-sex cohabitation, or whether they should default to it? I don't see as much of an issue with allowing male and female friends or partners to request to share a room, but I see a lot of potential hazards (and liability issues) with just randomly shuffling male and female students together.
So, you think that rooms should both be coed and be suite-style? Cool, I guess.
Yeah, pretty much. I think that current dorm conditions (at most schools) are absolutely unacceptable period, and that making them coed only makes them slightly more (or possibly less, in some situations) problematic.
I don't know why anyone would think that running this kind of social experiment on 18 year-olds would be anything close to a good idea.
Perhaps because they actually live in that arrangement, and have found it to be unproblematic? I live in a dorm that allows co-ed rooms. It's awesome. I'm pretty skeptical of claims that the sky would fall, since from where I'm standing it looks like it's still up there.
Is the question whether they should allow different-sex cohabitation, or whether they should default to it? I don't see as much of an issue with allowing male and female friends or partners to request to share a room, but I see a lot of potential hazards (and liability issues) with just randomly shuffling male and female students together.
Well, there are kind of two different proposals being discussed. One is allowing individuals to choose a specific opposite-gender roommate, one is allowing them to choose to be paired with any opposite gender roommate. I don't think anybody is really suggesting that pairing people with opposite-gender roommates who don't want to is a great idea.
I think allowing people to pair with a specific person, regardless of gender, is not a horrible idea (and limits the school's liability). If I choose to room with my girlfriend, or a good friend who happens to be female, I think responsibility for any issues that arise is largely on me (as I chose that roommate by name). If, on the other hand, the school allows dudes to simply choose "some chick" as a roommate (or vice versa), the public at large is going to have a harder time absolving them of any responsibility if any issues arise.
As I said before, I don't think the school should be able to shirk their responsibility for pairing some poor guy with another male psychopath just because they both had penises. But for whatever reason, it seems like our society will be much less forgiving if they randomly assign that same psycho into a room with a chick.
I, however, loved the experience. I was a transfer student and didn't even have to live in the dorms, but I chose to, because you gain so much. It's part of the college experience. Also, don't most schools not even make you live on campus the entire year, just a semester.
At the schools I looked at it was a year. And I think its usually measured in credits (for instance, at my school it's 24 credits in residence...which means if you're not going full time you may be required to do 3 semesters in t he dorms).
I don't know why anyone would think that running this kind of social experiment on 18 year-olds would be anything close to a good idea.
Perhaps because they actually live in that arrangement, and have found it to be unproblematic? I live in a dorm that allows co-ed rooms. It's awesome. I'm pretty skeptical of claims that the sky would fall, since from where I'm standing it looks like it's still up there.
Is the question whether they should allow different-sex cohabitation, or whether they should default to it? I don't see as much of an issue with allowing male and female friends or partners to request to share a room, but I see a lot of potential hazards (and liability issues) with just randomly shuffling male and female students together.
I don't think anyone has advocated mandatory co-ed rooms. That would be fucking ridiculous.
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Fuck, even studio apartments are generally larger than 10'x16'.
Really, two people sharing a room period unless romantically involved or siblings is pretty damn uncommon. You've got college dorms, military barracks, the occasional college apartment (there were four girls living in the three-bedroom apartment next to us), and perhaps among the extremely poor. Hell, even most brokeass people I knew sharing apartments tried to keep a 1:1 bedroom to person ratio...and in the one instance I knew of where two dudes were sharing a bedroom in an apartment it was bigger than 10'x16'.
EDIT: And, apparently, gay guys. I was not aware of this.
EDIT: Oh, VC may or may not have been referring to gay guys paired with straight guys in one of the above arrangements. Either way, shared rooms are still damn uncommon, mixed gender (or sexuality) or not.
It's not unusual for gay guys to share a room with another guy they're not romantically involved with or related to, though.
Outside of college it is, and in college it's just a happenstance resulting from the fact that college arrangements seemingly don't recognize that students might be gay. Sharing a room with another human being is already kind of a strange thing in our culture - I don't really see why it would be in any way a good idea to intentionally complicate it.
I'm going to go ahead and suggest that outside of a couple limited circumstances where people are forced into shared bedrooms by policies outside of their control (college, military, prison) it is vanishingly rare for two adult human beings who are not having sex to share a sleeping space.
Cue marriage jokes here.
Then don't opt to room with a girl. I sure wouldn't.
Now, if we started building college dorms that were more like multiple 6'x8' single-occupancy rooms adjoining some common space, then I say mix and match gender as you please. And most of my objections to forced residency requirements would go away as well.
EDIT: Of course, addressing the real problem would cost a lot of money, whereas this can be disguised as "olol progress!" So coed dorm rooms it is, I guess.
Perhaps because they actually live in that arrangement, and have found it to be unproblematic? I live in a dorm that allows co-ed rooms. It's awesome. I'm pretty skeptical of claims that the sky would fall, since from where I'm standing it looks like it's still up there.
So, you think that rooms should both be coed and be suite-style? Cool, I guess.
I lived in a 7 by 12 room that was so small I had to take down my bed and sleep on my matress on the floor, then prop it up on the wall during the day just to be able to move. It's a running joke between my fiance and I whenever we see a prison cell on TV, that we compare it to that room and my dorm room almost always comes up short.
I, however, loved the experience. I was a transfer student and didn't even have to live in the dorms, but I chose to, because you gain so much. It's part of the college experience. Also, don't most schools not even make you live on campus the entire year, just a semester.
My first two years of university were hell.
Junior year = one of the most amazing social experiences of my life. I lived in a pretty small dorm with an amazing roommate. Everyone on the floor knew each other and hung out in the lounge or in each others rooms - it was like living in a hotel with a bunch of awesome people.
Senior year = even better than junior year.
First two years sucked cause as a non-drinker, it was hard for me to get up, get out, and make friends. But it all worked out in the end.
Is the question whether they should allow different-sex cohabitation, or whether they should default to it? I don't see as much of an issue with allowing male and female friends or partners to request to share a room, but I see a lot of potential hazards (and liability issues) with just randomly shuffling male and female students together.
Yeah, pretty much. I think that current dorm conditions (at most schools) are absolutely unacceptable period, and that making them coed only makes them slightly more (or possibly less, in some situations) problematic.
Well, there are kind of two different proposals being discussed. One is allowing individuals to choose a specific opposite-gender roommate, one is allowing them to choose to be paired with any opposite gender roommate. I don't think anybody is really suggesting that pairing people with opposite-gender roommates who don't want to is a great idea.
I think allowing people to pair with a specific person, regardless of gender, is not a horrible idea (and limits the school's liability). If I choose to room with my girlfriend, or a good friend who happens to be female, I think responsibility for any issues that arise is largely on me (as I chose that roommate by name). If, on the other hand, the school allows dudes to simply choose "some chick" as a roommate (or vice versa), the public at large is going to have a harder time absolving them of any responsibility if any issues arise.
As I said before, I don't think the school should be able to shirk their responsibility for pairing some poor guy with another male psychopath just because they both had penises. But for whatever reason, it seems like our society will be much less forgiving if they randomly assign that same psycho into a room with a chick.
At the schools I looked at it was a year. And I think its usually measured in credits (for instance, at my school it's 24 credits in residence...which means if you're not going full time you may be required to do 3 semesters in t he dorms).
I don't think anyone has advocated mandatory co-ed rooms. That would be fucking ridiculous.