<p>Recently, Davidson College, a small LAC in a tony town outside of Charlotte, voted to allow coed housing -- that is mixed gender roommates. I am sure the alumni may be in shock. Curious how parents (many of whom lived through the changes of the late 1960's on college campuses) perceive this change.</p>
<p>Here is their February article about it in their paper:</p>
<p>*On Feb. 7, the Committee on Campus and Religious Life (CCRL) met to discuss the February 9 Student Government Association (SGA) resolution to introduce a co-ed housing option.</p>
<p>The committee voted to recommend the proposal to President Bobby Vagt with a stipulation that the coed living application process include a clarifying waiver.</p>
<p>During the committee's discussion of the SGA/RLO proposal, concerns surfaced that co-ed housing could open the door to potentially awkward situations.</p>
<p>Specifically, romantic partners could decide to live together for an academic year and then end their relationship during that same year.</p>
<p>The additional waiver would clarify what the Residence Life Office (RLO) could and could not do to address housing concerns in such situations.</p>
<p>As recommended by CCRL, members of co-ed housing groups would have to sign this waiver to be eligible.</p>
<p>CCRL is a committee of students, staff and faculty that makes policy recommendations to the president.*</p>
<p>I was surprised to find that one college, whose name I cannot remember, now has coed communal bathrooms. </p>
<p>My husband was not happy when he saw both sexes living on the same floor during recent visits. He might have a heart attack if he saw the article you cited. He graduated from college in 1969 and at his college the dorms were all same sex.</p>
<p>Actually, quite a few colleges have coed bathrooms. i'm not sure what you mean by "communal"--no doors?</p>
<p>As far as coed rooms, that's been allowed at several LACs before. Wesleyan and Haverford, that I know of, and I'm sure there are others. DAvidson may be church affiliated, but I am not sure that "Southern Christian school" really characterizes it accurately; as far as I know, it does not have rules of behavior similar to schools which are more overtly "Christian." So, it seems to be following more its academic peers in this decision.</p>
<p>My understanding is that these rooms are generally occupied by friends, not couples. There seems to be a general disapproval among the student populations towards couples living on the same floor, never mind room. I haven't heard it's been a problem where it's been allowed.</p>
<p>Connecticut College has coed floors (not rooms that I know of) and coed bathrooms. The kids seem to adjust easily to this. On a lighter note, I have heard students refer to the situation of couples in the same dorm as 'dormcest', and couples on the same floor as 'floorcest'. Hahaha.</p>
<p>I understood this as co-ed suites, not actual co-ed rooms--or off-campus apartments with optional co-ed living. I also would never have characterized Davidson as a "Southern Christian school." In fact, this is the first time I've ever seen or heard it described that way.</p>
<p>"There seems to be a general disapproval among the student populations towards couples living on the same floor, never mind room."</p>
<p>This has been my experience as well. Which is not to say that it didn't happen, but most of the kids realize just how bad the risks can be. I have known some gay couples who intentionally shared rooms or suites, though.</p>
<p>all my daughters dorms had coed bathrooms- however many rooms were singles- and I am not sure if any of the divided doubles were coed.</p>
<p>Her senior year, she had an off campus townhouse ( but college owned) that she shared with a male roommate. It worked well, they had two bedrooms, two baths ( one on each floor) & different hours.
They have remained friends, and still live in same city, in fact he recently taught her to drive a stick shift!</p>
<p>Since graduation she has been living with two roommates in a 3 bedroom. One male and one female ( trans),she was going to live with them her senior year, until she bumped her senior year back, and is enjoying their company.</p>
<p>I think personality, is more important for roommates than what sex they happen to be. I would also agree that I wouldn't think of Davidson as a religous school, but compare it to other LACs, according to Princeton Review these are schools students are interested in alongside Davidson
Amherst College
Bucknell University
Clemson University
College of William and Mary
Dartmouth College
Duke University
Elon University
Emory University
Furman University
Georgetown University</p>
<p>I think in general, students frowned on rooming with romantic interests, although she did know gay couples who were rooming together, it isn't unusual for couples to break up in the middle of the year, resulting in either a lot of awkwardness, or hassle when finding new space.</p>
<p>I do not wish to belabor the issue about Davidson being a Christian school, but there are some facts which need to be known.</p>
<p>First, on its web page it states: Davidson College is an institution of higher learning established in 1837 by Presbyterians of North Carolina. Since its founding, the ties that bind the college to its Presbyterian heritage, including the historic understanding of Christian faith called The Reformed Tradition, have remained close and strong. The college is committed to continuing this vital relationship.</p>
<p>. . . </p>
<p>The Christian tradition to which Davidson remains committed recognizes God as the source of all truth, and believes that Jesus Christ is the revelation of that God, a God bound by no church or creed. The loyalty of the college thus extends beyond the Christian community to the whole of humanity and necessarily includes openness to and respect for the world’s various religious traditions. Davidson dedicates itself to the quest for truth and encourages teachers and students to explore the whole of reality, whether physical or spiritual, with unlimited employment of their intellectual powers. At Davidson, faith and reason work together in mutual respect and benefit toward growth in learning, understanding, and wisdom.</p>
<p>And then in its presidential search, it outlines in the prospectus that the candidate must be of:</p>
<p>Strong Christian faith and committed and active church membership.</p>
<p>I find the coed bathroom thing a little disconcerting at some schools. Toilets have stalls with doors that lock so I can see that. But showers frequently just have a curtain on them. If you had teenagers in the house, I don't think it would be standard practice for your two sons and their friends to come into the bathroom, use the toilet, brush their teeth at the sink, etc while daughter was in bathtub/shower with just a curtain on it. It just seems to take away all sense of privacy which the rest of communal living already does. I grew up in a large household and I've shared living space with opposite sexed friends and while we both may have brushed our teeth at the same time, we would have considered it inappropriate to shower/toilet at the same time or do so with the door open. However, with the things that now appear on the internet, maybe as a society we are going away from the idea of any need for privacy or alone time.</p>
<p>^^At Conn College at least, the showers are in a separate part and come with stall like doors that lock. I was amazed at the way the kids seem to work it all out - they deal with it very well - including my own D who has no brothers, and spent her first 17 years w/her own bedroom and bathroom. I think the fact that kids can coexist and learn to do so respectfully is a great life lesson.</p>
<p>yes I noticed that they are on the lookout for a new president</p>
<p>Its curious if the college takes the religous foundation seriously, that they have the need for "substance free" dorms, and such extensive instructions regarding alcohol and its permitted use on their housing website.</p>
<p>Re co-ed bathrooms-
the dormmates could vote whether to keep bathrooms co-ed or to assign one for each sex ( but then it might have gotten into- which the GLBT folks were supposed to use)</p>
<p>Ds freshman dorm was fairly small- and I didn't really notice where the showers were. Her soph and junior year, the bathrooms were large, bright, and had showers with doors and plenty of area to change clothes, much like a * very nice* campground facility.
When I went down to visit, I actually used the showers in her dorm, as the shower in the hostel I was staying in, was gross.</p>
<p>I don't think it is so much an issue of co-ed or not, but appropriate dress and privacy. If I am living in a dorm with all women, I wouldn't think it to be any more appropriate to just walk around in a towel, than if there were men next door.</p>
<p>I don't think people should be forced to have an opposite sex roommate,but if that is who they choose to have for a roommate, as upperclassmen, I think their choice should be honored</p>
<p>Davidson: I think the key word there is "Presbyterian". In a world where "religious college" brings to mind Oral Roberts, BYU, Bob Jones, or perhaps Catholic schools where priests represent the bulk of the administrators and part of the faculty, few Presbyterian institutions are going to register as particularly religious, even if led by a person of strong faith and active church membership.</p>
<p>The point of coed housing at many schools is in fact sensitivity to the gay community--I believe this was said to be the case several years ago when Swarthmore started the practice and is part of the thinking at Davidson too.</p>
<p>I went to one of those Presbyterian-sponsored schools with required convocations, etc., but lo and behold! the church stopped supoprting thses schools financially, and the rules became relaxed. So thoo, here, I would believe.</p>
<p>I think coed living would go a long way towards dispelling the mystique of living with the opposite sex, and perhaps slow that trend for couples in relationships. What's the rush?</p>
<p>Speaking of dormcest, when my son was a freshman, his roomate was a young fellow from the local area, whose high school gf also went to that school and lived in that dorm, on that floor. About half way into the semester, the story was the gf's roomate had her bf in their room all the time, so the only place for our son's roomate's gf to sleep was in my son's room with her bf. Luckily my son had a sibling roomate at home most of the time, as well as a sister next door. He did say it was nice, because gf cleaned up for them all the time. I just kept my mouth shut.</p>
<p>This coming year son is setting up a Trombone House, about 12 trombone players in the band in a 6 bdrm house. Male and female. Relationships between players in the same instrument section (trumpets, tubas, etc.) are strictly forbidden, and known as homo-sectional relationships.</p>
<p>dt123 - how funny. Don't you love the lingo? I think they are very creative and funny. At my D's school they have singles starting soph year and there is a couple on her floor (all floors are coed every other room, etc) . These two live across the hall from one another, and moved both beds in one room and the other room is the 'TV room'. I'm told they are 'the freak show.'</p>