<p>Ok. So what if I said I don’t want to share a room with a Jewish person? Or I found out my roommate was Latino, panicked, and contacted the RA to switch me out? Does that seem respectable to you?</p>
<p>It’s not “just…” anything. Being gay is how you are born. Your weren’t born not wanting to room with a gay guy, you have a reason based on some kind of mistrust or dislike of a person because of a trait that only reveals who they are sexually attracted to. Nobody has to respect that reason. If you think prejudice is simply going out of your way campaigning against groups then you are naive.</p>
<p>In the end, you’re probably going to get your way because hardly anybody takes homophobia seriously. But we are still entitled to think you’re a total dick for switching before you even try to get to know the guy. Good advice, give respect to get respect. I imagine you’d feel a little put down if your roommate saw you on move-in day and said “I changed my mind,” before you even said a word to him. You’re being disrespectful to your assigned roommate by what you’ve said here, so we owe you no respect.</p>
<p>how can you possibly compare living with a homosexual with living with a latino?</p>
<p>i wouldn’t want to room with someone who was gay for the same reason you’re supposed to not want to room with the opposite sex who you dont know. its just inappropriate. no one should be forced to deal with the tension or the potential for tension that could arise from those circumstances. it complicates things, and it doesn’t matter how much you argue that it doesn’t–because it does.</p>
<p>if you’re the kind of person whos cool with that, theres no reason it shouldn’t be allowed, just like co-ed dorms. if you aren’t, then you should be allowed to opt out.</p>
There are plenty of gay people to go around! What are you afraid of? Straight people of the opposite sex usually don’t room together because they might get in a relationship or hook up - not an issue here.</p>
<p>I do think homophobes should be able to request a new roommate, to protect the gay person involved. If I was black and found out that I was going to be rooming with a racist I would want a new roommate too.</p>
<p>Nobody is being “forced” to do anything. He had the option to get a single, to commute, to sleep on the roof. He chose to have a roommate. Housing only provides so many options. When you agree to share a room, you agree to accept a gay, straight, bisexual, black, white, Asian, Middle Eastern, 7ft, midget on stereoids. </p>
<p>No, you don’t have to like them but there needs to be some level of maturity in realizing that you can’t have everything your way.
Provided the roommate isn’t physically attacking you or being offensive or threatening your safety, then simply existing is not reason enough to throw a fit.</p>
<p>How is not wanting to share a bedroom with a gay man not bigoted or prejudiced if you’ve never met the person in the first place? I can understand your position if your roommate goes out of his way to make you uncomfortable after you’ve both settled in (which should not happen either) but for you to simply have such a narrow frame of mind to ASSUME that about a roommate you haven’t met is bigoted. </p>
<p>How do you know you’ll be uncomfortable? How do you know he will be attracted to you?</p>
<p>aforautumn, I get what you’re saying. But then what do you suggest? Girls will probably not want to room with a gay guy simply because he is a guy. Should all gay freshmen be forced to live alone and not make friends through roommates like straight people, unless they actively find someone who wants to room with them?</p>
<p>Think about how we have men and women bathrooms, men and women locker rooms, etc… Should a straight man be able to request that I not use the Men’s Room while he’s in there, because it’s “inappropriate”? </p>
<p>Maybe rooming with someone of the opposite sex or someone gay would complicate things for you. But, with the utmost respect, that is mostly your fault for thinking that people can’t control their sexual urges. In this case, get a single and you will not have to deal with ANY complications that your roommate could present.</p>
<p>so then there should be no intentional divisions between boys and girls in dorms? you dont know if you’d be uncomfortable living with the opposite sex, or if they might end up being attracted to you. i guess the system is just wrong and homosexuality is whats going to end single-gender housing.</p>
<p>or do you contend that race and sexual orientation have more to do with each other than gender and sexual orientation?</p>
Tension can rise from any circumstance. Saying that you don’t want to room with a homosexual because of the tension that will follow is naive and extremely prejudiced. That’s like a racist saying they wouldn’t want to room with an Asian because they’re are afraid they might kill him with their calculus book. Or saying that they don’t want to room with a Latino because they will try to sell them drugs. These stereotypes lend way to bigotry. </p>
<p>But if you’d like, you’re absolutely allowed to opt out and go pitch a tent or something. just kidding.
I get what you mean. You’re entitled to your opinion. I just find your way of thinking to be rather narrow minded.</p>
<p>I can’t tell what in your post is sarcasm and what’s not. But no, maybe there shouldn’t be intentional gender divisions in dorms. Anybody could possibly be attracted to you. People in your classes could be attracted to you. Random people at a party could be attracted to you. People are going to approach you about it. If you don’t like them back, there could be tension or discomfort. What makes this happening with a roommate any different? You should be able to be an adult about it. </p>
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<p>I’m not exactly sure what this means, but I think it has to do with my comment comparing the situation to rooming with a Latino. Clearly sexual orientation has more to do with sex, as it indicates which sex you’re attracted to. But my point was that discrimination against someone for being different, whether it’s their gender, race, or orientation, is wrong. No one is trying to make any significant comparisons more in-depth than what I just said.</p>
you know just as well as anyone else that your only options are either to switch roommates or give living with him a chance.
since you claim to have gay friends, you know that it is possible for your roommate to become a close friend so why not at the very least meet him first?</p>
<p>I think it’s absolutely hilarious that every homophobe always tries to justify their point with a “I have many gay friends” or some lovely gem like that. </p>
<p>Please. Save it and speak your opinion honestly without sugarcoating.</p>
<p>dude it shouldn’t be a problem if you don’t make a big deal out of it. yes, there might be sexual tension at times but you will get over it as time goes on.</p>
<p>I don’t see a problem in this guy not wanting to room with a gay guy; he doesn’t want to room with a girl for the same reason. Universities typically don’t allow guys and girls to room for some reason, and we don’t have people screaming SEXISM!!!</p>
<p>A list of the currently gender-neutral colleges:
Bennington College
Brown University
California Institute of Technology
Carnegie Mellon University
Clark University
Colorado College
Columbia University
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Grinnell College
Hampshire College
Harvard University (only offered to students who identify as transgender)
Haverford College
Humboldt State University
Lawrence University
Lewis & Clark College
Oberlin College
San Diego State University
Sarah Lawrence College
Southern Oregon University
Stanford University
Swarthmore College
University of California-Riverside
University of Michigan
University of Pennsylvania
University of Southern Maine
Wesleyan University</p>
just kidding.