An Opportunity for No Barriers

With dorm room selection beginning  February 28^th,  many students say that coed dorm rooms should be something new that Loyola University should consider.

Coed dorm rooms offer an opportunity for students of the opposite sex to live together in the same room. Also known as gender neutral rooms, coed dorm rooms are an option that many schools are offering across the country. Over 50 colleges and universities such as Harvard, Stanford, Washington University, Beloit College, Ramapo College, and The University of Chicago allow coed dorm rooms. 

Advocates for coed dorm rooms say that they provide a way for students to choose their most comfortable living situations and they address diversity in sexual orientation. On the other hand, opponents say that romantic couples who live together may create problems in regards to religion, cohabitation, and morality.

Loyola Resident Assistant Kathleen Leahy, 20, explained that Loyola does offer coed dorm buildings, and guest policies do allow upper class students to have an opposite gender guest spend the night. However, freshman have a more strict policy where an opposite gender guest can only spend the night if he/she is a Loyola student.  

Andrew Naylor, the Loyola Assistant Director for Facilities and Operations, said coed dorm rooms were never an option Loyola has considered, and it is not in the agenda for the near future. Naylor did say, however, that Loyola is working to eventually take a big step by allowing males and females to live on the same floor in freshman dorms. That is, only if they have their own separate bathrooms.

Ten people throughout Loyola's campus were asked, “Do you think coed dorm rooms are an option Loyola should consider?” Most said that Loyola should allow opposite gender students to live together. 

Loyola University student, 20, Victor Maslon felt students should be, “responsible enough to decide for themselves if they are going to be capable of handling the potential drama that comes with it or not.”

Even though college students are making the decisions, there is a great potential for many parents to have a problem with this type of arrangement. Parents may become suspicious with a son or daughter rooming with someone of the opposite sex.

Business Researcher Fred Williams said, “I think it's problematic and people who want to do that should probably not be in a dorm situation.” He then continued on to say that issues arise such as early pregnancy and intrusion of privacy.

For this next dorm selection process coed dorm rooms will not be an option to choose from, and some people think that it should stay that way. A 26-year-old teacher from Philadelphia does not think Loyola is ready for that transition. 

However, many of the students interviewed were not aware that coed dorm rooms were an issue, and there may be a need for student awareness. For example, in 2006 a grassroots network of student activists started the National Student Genderblind Campaign. They fight for equality and  gender-neutral policies in college and university living. 

The National Student Genderblind Campaign assists students in universities all over the nation with the necessary tools and tactics needed to fight for gender-neutral policies. Their main goal is to stop segregation and the discriminatory nature of traditional policies.

Loyola student Bill Canterberry, 19, felt that we need to better understand the opposite sex, he then said, “I think that's a good step towards getting past a lot of barriers we have.”