In light of the Undergraduate Assembly's recent proposal to offer coeducational housing, the time has come for the University to take a serious look at how housing assignments are made and the restrictions currently in place.
Proponents of the plan argue that offering students the ability to choose their roommates regardless of gender would create more comfortable living arrangements for everyone involved. They feel that the current housing system is outdated and unintentionally biased against gay and transgender students as well as those who, for a variety of reasons, would feel more comfortable with an opposite sex roommate.
Similar housing policies at other institutions such as Brown, Haverford and Swarthmore have been well received by their respective student bodies. At Brown, for instance, demand has consistently outpaced supply of co-ed rooms.
The current system of room assignments should not be immediately dismissed, but further consideration as to the feasibility of the UA's proposal would be a step in the right direction. Rather than forcing students to seek off-campus residences, the University should be more receptive to students' housing needs.
This is not a policy that can or should be changed overnight. Some students, and likely parents as well, will inevitably have reservations about the policy, citing possible tensions among roommates of different gender.
In the coming months, however, administrators at Penn's Department of Housing and Conference Services should take a serious look at the UA's proposal and the policies in place at peer institutions.
Responsible students should have the right to choose the individuals with whom they live. Beginning a dialogue on the subject of co-ed housing, as the UA has done, is a good starting point for making University housing more accommodating.
