Some schools see push for more co-ed housing

As Penn continues to review the Undergraduate Assembly's proposal to create coeducational on-campus housing, other schools are already considering expanding their own co-ed dorm options.

Although many universities have co-ed dormitories, it is still the rarity to find programs that permit members of the opposite sex to cohabitate. Schools that do permit these options include Wesleyan University, Haverford College, Brown University and Swarthmore College.

Wesleyan University -- the first to develop a program so radical that it even surpasses the title of co-ed, which presumes only a binary view of genders -- created a "gender-blind" floor this fall for students who are male, female or transgender.

Having provided other types of coed housing for 20 years, Wesleyan Assistant Director of Residential Life Rich DeCapua said that such a floor "seemed to be the next logical step. We were surprised to find out that this was the first one in the country."

"The floor is really an extension of a lot of transgender programming that is going on around campus," DeCapua said. "We have such a supportive community for it."

Only 12 students currently reside on the floor, but 70 to 75 percent of sophomores, juniors and seniors live in some form of coed housing.

Meanwhile, at Brown University, many students have been pressuring administrators to build upon the co-ed living options, as there has been some resistance in meeting all requests.

Academic and Administrative Affairs Chair on Brown's Undergraduate Council of Students Charles Cummings said that "co-ed housing is extremely competitive to get; the areas designated as co-ed are the first to go" in the lottery.

"The administration has been helpful, but I think they're hesitant to expand it too much more," added Cummings, a Brown sophomore.

Brown Housing Officer Chad Mank said that the university has a set number of suites that permit co-ed habitation, but that there is no guarantee that they will be filled in this way.

According to a report published by Brown's Residential Council, only 25 percent of upperclassmen who requested co-ed housing received it last academic year. The council proposed an expansion of locations for co-ed housing.

Students from The Queer Alliance at Brown expressed concern at a recent Residential Council meeting. They demonstrated a need for transgender-specific housing, particularly for freshmen.

Co-ed housing is also popular at Swarthmore, where approximately 20 percent of the 1,300 students living in campus residencies opted for co-ed housing, according to Assistant Dean and Director of Residential Life at Swarthmore College Myrt Westphal. The program is only in its third year, but Westphal said that it is already a campus standard.

"It's just part of the mix," she said, adding that it has grown since its development.

The options take the form of suites and one-bedroom doubles, but Westphal said that Swarthmore tries not to promote the cohabitation of couples.

The proposal was put forth by students from the LGBT community who complained that the old system offered "a heterosexist view of the world." Westphal noted that because of the wise and thoughtful manner in which they pursued the proposal, "there was no controversy about it."

However, co-ed housing is not necessarily a growing trend -- Haverford senior and Chairwoman of the Housing Committee Lisa Piraino said that "it is not that popular, and there is really not that much demand for it."

Haverford College is rather progressive compared to some of its peers. Besides offering the usual co-ed residences, they allow mixed genders to share two-bedroom apartments. Less than 3 percent of Haverford's 1,100 students choose this option, which is only available for upperclassmen. The school demands that three people reside together to prevent students from abusing the option for romantic purposes.

"One man and one women would never be able to live together; they would need to pull in a third person," said Haverford Director of Student Housing Matha Thornton. The two students of the same sex would need to live in one room while the third student would live in the other.

Thornton noted that their program -- which is approximately five years old -- does not target any one group of students.

"It runs the gamut with the types of students who participate," Thornton said.

She noted that the program can grow with demand. But for now, she said that "students are very satisfied... students who want to participate, can."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.