Co-ed bathroom in dorms - am I crazy and how can I find out details from schools on our list?

Not any I’ve seen.

@NJWrestlingmom We didn’t really like the new dorms at Rowan for that reason.

I actually felt there was less privacy because there was not a door at the hall entrance to the shower areas, bathroom areas, and sink areas, even if there were doors inside to each toilet or shower.

So my oldest D had some issues at school over the years with guys who were interested in her and being a little too present. They were not stalkers but she sometimes felt she was uncomfortable with them always hanging around near where she would be. The last thing she would have needed is someone like that watching her go in to use the toilet or shower.

She once lived in a dorm where guys would use the women’s bathroom for convenience because it was near the door, and she got used to it but it wasn’t her preference .

I had coed bathrooms for one of my years. Shower stalls had a metal door (vs curtains) and bathrooms had urinals with no visual blockage behind. Everyone adapted in a week or so, and walking around in towels felt like being at home with family after a while. Like sharing a meal together, I think it breaks down barriers if you can bear it.

It only got interesting when there were two pairs of feet noticeable in one shower stall…

Yup, although in my case it was late 60s and an all-male floor. And there was the long weekend I spent at Sarah Lawrence . . . :slight_smile:

I was on a college tour a couple of years ago, and a parent nervously asked about mixed gender floors. I said to my son, next to me, that “they’re all mixed gender by Columbus Day.” Ditto bathrooms.

I do not think it is a social injustice to understand that some people are modest. Modesty is not a character fault. I am sorry but one should not have to break down barriers. Don’t make your kids feel badly if mixed gender bathrooms aren’t their thing.

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My 3 kids share a bathroom so they’ve been living with mixed gender bathrooms all their lives!

The bathrooms in my dorm did (built in the 40’s as all male, had those floor length ones), but were all used as planters when I was there, mostly filled with ivy (or what looked like ivy…)

I did not have co-ed bathrooms and I think it would have initially given me a little anxiety, too. I didn’t grow up in a house where we walked around in underwear or with towels around us, and I had no sisters. I felt I was already pushing myself way outside my comfort zone sharing a room with a total stranger and requesting a co-ed dorm with communal bathrooms you had to walk down the hall to get go.

So I didn’t find it particularly amusing when I had just finished taking a shower one day, opened the curtain and saw my clothes and towel were gone. I thought it was a couple of buddies pulling a prank and started yelling to bring my clothes back - or for someone to bring me something, but . . . . crickets.

I ended up taking off the shower curtain and wrapping it around me, but imagine my surprise when I stepped into the hall dripping wet and seeing a half dozen girls waiting with cameras ready, and it was pretty clear they hadn’t expected me to think of the shower curtain. Yes, these were someone’s shy, sweet and innocent daughters. :wink:

Welcome to college. Don’t expect a lot of privacy in a communal living situation, but you do get used to it in a short amount of time. That incident helped get me over it pretty quickly. ha!

Sorry, I should have been more careful with phrasing. I meant break down barriers to conversation or getting people comfortable enough with you to become friends. It’s hard to think of people as being stuck up if you’ve already seen them walk around in a towel.

I didn’t mean any societal barriers being broken down. And there is no problem with being modest.

Did someone suggest making kids feel bad? I must have missed it.

My son lived in a coed dorm with girls on one side of the floor and guys on the other. Each side had bathroom areas with several common sinks with mirror and 4 separate toilet/shower rooms with a locking door. Set up would have worked to have guys and girls in same bathroom area. But floor voted to keep them separate. Does that mean no guy ever used the bathrooms on the girls side of the floor or vice versa? I would bet not. But it wasn’t the norm.

@MACmiracle agreed - I wouldn’t have been comfortable with that bathroom set up, I didn’t like the no doors from the hall either. We weren’t allowed to pick a dorm so I was relieved when he got an older one and we saved a few thousand! The only complain in the old one is no AC.

Millersville won best dorms for us.

@NJWrestlingmom The thing about the no-door openings to the toilet, showers, and sink areas is that the opening were wide, right? Not like a normal door size from what I remember. So everyone using that space would almost be on display to anyone walking by to and from their dorm rooms.

Like a diorama of private functions. ;:wink:

@MACmiracle very wide!!! My neighbor’s son lived there last year and loved it but not for my son!

@carbmom I wouldn’t be excited about coed bathrooms either. Years 2 through 4 I lived in a sorority and that was clean and lovely.

OP here again to thank everyone who shared your thoughts. Reading through the replies, it seems I’m in the minority but definitely not the only one who feel uneasy about this. From talking to some students, it does seem most kids get used to the setup fairly quickly, but it’s also possible that people who are uncomfortable with it are not speaking up. That’s actually my main concern. The bathroom setup itself is nothing new and nothing wrong, but my child isn’t quite the kind to always speak up for herself and it would be bad situation if she is living in a place she’s uncomfortable with. We can’t change reality of course, so we need to deal with it. Guess I need to tell DD how important it is to make sure her voice is heard when things that matter are being decided. And this bathroom issue should be put on the list of things to consider once the acceptances are in hand for her to decide on.

I do disagree with someone who said a towel shows less than what you’d see at the pool so it’s no big deal. It’s different context and thus can’t be compared. We don’t wander in our own yard in just undergarments, even though they offer far more coverage than the bikinis at the public beach, right?

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@NJWrestlingmom My middle son would not have showered either. He would be very shy and uncomfortable with that.

Now the youngest son (right now in middle school), he’d be the towel walker. Hoping you’d notice his abs.

I am in a hotel right now that has a pool. Riding in an elevator with someone in their bathing suit wrapped in a towel does not mean I am willing to pay to stay in a hotel where I am showering, using the bathroom, or brushing my teeth next to strangers. Next to my kids in my room? Even we have a full door between the room and the toilet and shower.

If a student is uncomfortable with sharing a bathroom with the opposite gender, their reaction is perfectly acceptable. I personally don’t see it comparable to sharing a home bathroom. We have 8 kids and none of them, even the same gender, uses the bathroom while someone else is showering or using the toilet. The only time you’ll see multiple people in the bathroom is fully dressed and either brushing their teeth or hair. We expect more personal boundary respect in our home.

And, no, I don’t see students in a dorm like family. Even the kid’s friends aren’t invited to use the bathroom at the same time in our house. When they need to brush their teeth, you leave and give them privacy.

So I am happy to dwell in the minority and think it perfectly normal to be uncomfortable with it like the OP.

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@carbmom, this was a concern for my D who is very modest. She didn’t actually take schools off the list that had co-ed bathrooms but they def lost “points” on her spreadsheet. I’ve mentioned before that one of the top reasons (after academics and price lol) for her college decision was the suites where 5 women share a bathroom that has a separate shower and a separate toilet with communal sinks. I’m not sure co-ed bathrooms would be a complete deal breaker but she certainly had her reservations and I respected that.