<p>Haley, you raised interesting points. I graduated in 1984, and was not a prototypical Domer. We were the 8th class of women to be admitted, and there was a reverse quota on women, which they said was due to housing, but was really due to the number of alumni who were incensed they ever let women into the place to begin with. We used to joke that the only thing ND did to foster co-education was to change the plumbing in the dorms.</p>
<p>Things have come a long way since then. There are a lot more women--48% of the class--and Monk Malloy has been very committed to enhancing the atmosphere on campus. I can't speak to how the place is now, but I know that the kids who came from public schools, by and large, were a bit culture shocked by the atmosphere on the campus. Having gone to a single-sex school (although fighting it tooth and nail, until I realized it was futile and I was stuck there), I was familiar with the culture. As it happens, a lot of my best friends on campus ended up being the kids who came from public schools, and by and large, from the coasts. </p>
<p>There was a "liberal" (and I mean this as I think you do, not politically, but more culturally) contingent on campus, but you had to find it. People found ways to get around parietals, as I'm sure they still do, but I will say it's a highly risky endeavor, because, if you end up in a situation where you are caught, the University is very tough on it. </p>
<p>As far as social interaction between males and females, some of my very best friends were guys. Granted, the male/female ratio was different. Still, in a university of its size, you will find like-minded people and gravitate towards them. There is a Planned Parenthood in South Bend for those who need whatever meds they need for whatever reason they need them.</p>
<p>Don't know what to tell you, Haley. You could be one of those people who really feels stifled by the university, or you could be one who finds people whose view on life matches your own--and grows to love the place. </p>
<p>I can tell you one thing--hell will freeze over before ND ever gets co-ed dorms. In my own experience, though, the single-sex dorms didn't really cramp my style as far as having lots of guy friends I hung out with... I can guarantee, you, though, that ND is not nearly as sexually open as some other campuses out there. From the perspective of a 40-something-year-old who has been around the block and done the rebel thing, I don't think that's a bad thing.</p>
<p>I wish you the best in whatever decision you choose to make...</p>