Daily Titan: College campuses should not integrate men and women in dorm rooms

By Jessica Druck
Published: February 23, 2011

Have you ever seen an episode of The Real World? You know, that show on MTV where seven strangers move to a city they’re new to, share a seven-bed apartment, possibly form romantic relationships (or just hook up), ally together and gang up on others and the couple breaks up seven times in a four month span, all while trying to get along as a house because no one knows anyone else?

Add a school mascot, midterms and Top Ramen, and you have a parent’s worst nightmare of a coed dorm. Of course, MTV’s The Real World is a rather embellished depiction of what can really be found in a coed dorm.

I can’t speak for all schools, but they are a bad idea.

Cal State Fullerton does not offer coed dorms, but according to an article in the Los Angeles Times, as of March 2010, about 50 colleges in the U.S.—some of which are Ivy League—are permitting mixed-gender dorm rooms to undergraduate students.

Freshmen and sophomores—at least most of them—are not mature enough to live with the opposite sex. Hell, some 30-year-olds aren’t even mature enough.

Promiscuity is huge today; just turn on the CW and watch an episode of 90210 (I did this for research). Look at what those teenagers are doing and they are in high school.

Sexual harassment can be a problem as well. I’m not saying everyone is vulgar, but I am saying that some are more sensitive to jokes which can be taken the wrong way, leading to harassment.

Speaking of harassment, while many people may feel completely comfortable walking around exposed, some may feel displeased by having to find your bare body on the couch watching TV. That alone can be some form of harassment.

Some colleges, like CSUF, offer coed floors as opposed to just dorms and even that might be overbearing for students.

Seeing someone with no shirt can be offensive. It may be religious or personal values, but those values should be respected.

And when it comes to values, what do young adults who moved out for the first time really cherish?

Freedom: the freedom to leave dirty socks on the floor, not do the dishes and date whomever they want, even if that includes rooming with their girlfriend or dating their roommate.

If breaking up is the least of your worries, come talk to me after you have to see him or her every morning while eating your Captain Crunch. Talk about awkward.

Freshman year is stressful. At 18 and 19, it’s hard enough to be yourself, so your living arrangement should be comfortable.

College campuses need to focus on what is really necessary for students, and coed dorms aren’t.