Back in the 90s when I went to college, my parents were happy I got into a coed dorm. They said having males around would be more secure. I did not object and had a great time.
S lived in a coed dorm first semester in a coed wing. (group of girls rooms and group of guys rooms all in the same wing). No problems. Didn’t think twice about it. His gf is in a coed dorm but her wing is all female. Not an issue there either.
I live in a co-ed house. My son lives in a co-ed dorm. After using the men only bathroom the first two years, he now ventures into the “anyone” bathroom because it is closer to his room.
When I was in college (mid-80’s) the dorm I lived in freshman and sophomore year was coed by room. The was a girls-only and boys-only bathroom on each floor (no suites). Between midnight and 5am, the bathrooms turned co-ed. (Floor was a large L-shape, with 1 bathroom on each wing)
I’ll never forget this: The first time my dad came to visit me and saw the coed floor, he said “If the dorms were like this when I was at school, I’d still be in school.” LOL
@doschicos this was not the case in the 80s – my friends who lived co-ed used to get fully made up and dressed up for dinner lol
When my oldest lived on a co-ed floor, there were 4 girls and the rest boys. Each gender had their own restroom. Those 4 girls had 6 sinks, 6 stalls, and 4 showers. They loved it, no waiting for anything. They didn’t think twice about leaving anything in the bathroom since if it walked off, it would have to be one of the 4 that did it. No bothered anything.
Son, currently in sophomore year, has resided in a co-ed dorm from day 1 freshman year. The dorm shifted to co-ed bathrooms this year and he said (to my surprise) - it was not a big deal. There ya go.
@toomanyteens I think, like many things, it might vary by group and region - now and then. I would guess that even back in the 80s, though, the guys cared less than the young women thought they did. A pretty girl is pretty even in sweats. 
@doschicos oh yes - I am certain only the girls felt that dolling up for dinner was necessary lol
I actually lived in an all-girls dorm (we had few co-eds at the time). Despite this, guys were allowed in the dorm from 6 a.m. until midnight, so they were always there anyway. And, when they were there, they used our bathrooms. We just had a standing policy that if there was a guy in the bathroom that a girl would stand outside and tell anyone who was about to go in. If the girl was already in there, you just said yea or nay if you minded having a guy in there. We worked it out.
I lived on a coed floor back in the late '70s, and had zero interest in putting on makeup or getting dressed up for the guys on my floor. Nor do I recall the other girls acting that way. We did have separate bathrooms for each gender, though. Both bathrooms were in the center of the floor, right across the hall from each other, so I don’t think there would have been much advantage to making them coed.
In the 1970s, I lived in an all-women’s dorm for three years when I was in college. The bathroom in our section was for women only – officially. But we often had male guests – sometimes overnight or for a whole weekend – and obviously they used our facilities. What else could they do?
Oddly, the only year when I didn’t see men in the bathroom was the year when I lived in a co-ed dorm. That building had separate men’s and women’s bathrooms.
I lived in a co-ed dorm freshman year. It was a small dorm, so we all got to know each other pretty well. We ended up being more like siblings, we didn’t date each other. Guys would walk into a common area with a towel after shower sometimes and no one thought it was strange. We also covered for each other when unexpected guest showed looking for one of us.
As long as the rooms and bathrooms are segregated by make/female, it’s fine. Seriously, how basic can you get with boundaries?
My daughter has lived in apartment style suites for sophomore and now junior years and both years mixed genders. After almost three years of college she has determined that the boys are much easier to live with than the girls.
I am actually grateful my daughter lived in a co-ed dorm her one and only year on campus. It was an honors dorm, so I wasn’t too worried that there would be too many distractions from studying, too many drunks, etc. She did share a room with a friend from her high school, and they had two random same-sex suite mates, but pretty much every other suite was the other sex. It was a nice mix of majors, and even foreign exchange students. She graduates this summer, and is still best friends with a few of the boys and the roomie. She never would have those male friendships that strong if it were not for the dorm experience.
Seriously, we’re questioning co-ed dorms now? Did we travel back to 1964?
They are not new. Neither are co-ed bathrooms. Or co-ed rooms. Even the few single-sex dorms do not police who stays over in whose room.
College students have sex. Even students in single-sex dorms.
Sophomore D is in a coed suite this year. She has a female roommate, another female has a single; RA male has a single, double with 2 male students. The women are on one end, the living area is in the middle, and the men on the other end. There is one bathroom: toilet with a stall door, shower with a curtain, double sink. If she wants total privacy, the bathroom can be locked. She grew up with 2 brothers and a sister sharing one bathroom, so not much different for her.
I was surprised, but I’m used to it now.
My daughter was in girls dorm freshman year. This year she is in a co-ed dorm, suite-style with a shared bathroom but both suites have to be same sex. She said she would have been ok with a co-ed dorm last year, but liked that it wasn’t. She preferred getting to know everyone on the floor without worrying about a bunch of guys seeing her walk down the hall in her towel or robe. Now with a year under her belt, she wouldn’t be concerned with it.
My son OTOH, I don’t know what he will do next year if he’s in a co-ed dorm and a girl is walking down the hall in a towel. He doesn’t like to see others feeling uncomfortable…if he thinks the girl is, geez can’t say if he would turn and quickly walk the other direction or run and grab a few more towels for her!!!
@jcmom716, girls who are uncomfortable walking down the hall in towels do not walk down the hall in towels.
My daughter is like this. She has always been a very private person. When she was in college, she would walk to the shower fully dressed, carrying her towel and whatever else she needed. She would hang her clothes on the hooks provided, take her shower, dry off, and get dressed before leaving the shower compartment.
So your son doesn’t have to be concerned. If he sees someone who is less than fully dressed, he can conclude that this person doesn’t mind being seen that way.