<p>Let's be real here....like the girls here don't make generalizations about the guys? All I hear about is how hot the athletes (specifically in one sport) are and the rest of us are, well, let's just say more unfortunate looking. Girls are guilty of generalizations here as well. I hear it all the time.</p>
<p>Whatever, none of it really matters. No one will judge your attractiveness based on a stereotype, because unlike any other stereotype (race, gender, sexuality, etc.) appearance can be judged instantly. The other stereotypes take time and interaction to disprove.</p>
<p>Domeguy is right, girls are definitely guilty of the same thing. However, the athletes are not immune to this. Not all girls are jersey chasers and even our athletes here are not exceptionally attractive... But I have yet to hear anyone (guy or girl) personally insult someone on their looks.</p>
<p>I'm sorry this thread has degenerated into a battle of the sexes. I very much enjoyed the OP's original comments. I don't have the same outlook on a lot of things, but I don't expect to. I am, after all, a middle aged woman. I do have a son in his freshman year there. He's not the type that tends to bare his soul and I liked getting another students impressions. In any case, if the OP wants to get back to talking about his experiences at ND, I'll be reading them. I've only visited ND once, when we dropped my son off, but I guess I've gotten to that stage in life when a great many young people seem to be a pleasure to look at, male and female.</p>
<p>haha that was entertaining!
Nice to get the perspective of someone who actually goes there!
I hope I'm lucky enough to experience all of this (I really want to get accepted to ND!)
Overall, ND still sounds absolutely AWESOME!</p>
<p>Thank you for posting your honest opinion, and shame on anybody who is criticizing the guy. First amendment, come on. Parietals sound like a form of medieval torture. Bleh.</p>
<p>It is. I haven't really seen the direct benefits of parietals, people break them left and right, and is one of the big reasons why we have such strained gender relations.</p>
<p>I think the strained gender relations are more of a result of single sex dorms than parietals. As a male, it is often uncomfortable going into an all-female environment, and my girl friends have voiced their feeling that when going to a men's dorm (other than the weekends, when it is expected), they feel the same - that "hanging out" in a dorm of the opposite sex is immediately viewed as "oh, who's he/she hooking up with?" until proven otherwise.</p>
<p>In my opinion, though, the benefits of the residence hall system, especially the atmosphere created by it in my dorm and others, are unparalleled and not something I would be willing to give up without much heated debate.</p>
<p>I think though, that you could get the same fellowship benefits with co ed dorms .</p>
<p>My argument is that no, you can't. I went to an all-boys high school as saw many of the same effects in how my classmates were able to interact. There was a lot less tension because there wasn't a constant pressure to impress girls - in fact, the ones that acted "tough" who usually pretty self-ostracized and not really members of the school community.</p>
<p>Granted, college students are more mature, so maybe it would be different. But why risk total meltdown of dorm spirit when the system as it is provides such a great atmosphere?</p>
<p>I feel a urge to point out that Caltech has coed dorms that have the same level of spirit. They function almost identically to ours--that is, people stay in the same dorm all four years and identify strongly with where they live.</p>
<p>I lived in a co-ed co-op in college, and we had incredible cameraderie and identified strongly with our house. </p>
<p>D. was home during fall break and spent a lot of time in the dorms here with her high school friends, and really appreciated the family feeling of the co-ed dorms. I think ND is missing an opportunity to help their students really develop a community by restricting their communities to single sex.</p>