College dorm rooms go coed
By Michelle R. Smith, Associated Press Writer
Erik Youngdahl and Michelle Garcia share a dorm room at Connecticut's Wesleyan University. But they say there's no funny busines
They have set up their beds side-by-side like Lucy and Ricky in "I Love Lucy," and avert their eyes when one of them is changing clo
"People are shocked to hear that it's happening and even that it's possible," said Youngdahl, a 20-year-old sophomore. But "once yo
into a big deal."
In the prim 1950s, college dorms were off-limits to members of the opposite sex. Then came the 1970s, when male and female stud
dormitories. Now, to the astonishment of some Baby Boomer parents, a growing number of colleges are going even further: coed ro
At least two dozen schools, including Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania, Oberlin College, Clark University and the Ca
all students to share a room with anyone they choose — including someone of the opposite sex. This spring, as students sign up for
suit, including Stanford University.
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Michelle Garcia
As shocking as it sounds to some parents, some students and schools say it's not about sex.
Instead, they say the demand is mostly from heterosexual students who want to live with close friends who happen to be of the oppo
comfortable rooming with someone of the opposite sex are also taking advantage of the option.
"It ultimately comes down to finding someone that you feel is compatible with you," said Jeffrey Chang, a junior at Clark in Worceste
Student Genderblind Campaign, a group that is pushing for gender-neutral housing. "Students aren't doing this to make a point. The
really for practical reasons."
Couples do sometimes room together, an arrangement known at some schools as "roomcest." Brown explici