Wesleyan University does it. Dartmouth College just postponed it. Harvard University's student government just passed a measure supporting it.
And with no clear consensus on the issue of co-ed housing, universities across the country are wondering what should happen next.
Also known as gender-neutral housing, co-ed housing allows for students of different sexes to room together. Penn instituted the practice earlier this academic year when it started allowing men and women to live in suites together, though not in the same room.
And as the issue gains prominence around the country, universities are scrambling to come to a consensus on some type of policy regarding the issue -- even if the policy is not to have one.
The issue of co-ed housing has been on the radar at Penn for the past few years, said Phil Nichols, faculty director of College Houses and Academic Services.
"Nationwide, more and more schools are moving in that direction," he said.
Harvard's student government, for example, passed a measure Sunday that urges that men and women be able to room together without first seeking approval from dorm administrators. The measure will soon be taken to university administrators, according to Harvard junior Eric Kouskalis, who serves on student government.
Schools such as Wesleyan, Swarthmore and Haverford colleges and Columbia University offer gender-neutral housing as an option for every student, and the option may not be far behind for Penn.
Yale University doesn't offer the option, although a student organization called Alliance for Sensible College Housing has repeatedly brought the issue before university officials without success.
Dartmouth, however, recently postponed plans for gender-neutral housing intended to be implemented with the completion of new dorms this fall. The proposal was pushed back to the fall of 2007.
"Our initiative called for specific allocation of rooms to be gender neutral," Dartmouth junior and Gay Straight Alliance co-Chair Tim Andreadis said. "We recognize that transgender students may feel more comfortable with gender-neutral housing."
Though the initiative failed, the reason may not be possible social stigma surrounding transgender issues but rather to a shortage of on-campus housing.
"We are in the midst of a housing crisis," Dartmouth Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Director Programming Director Pam Misener said. "There's an urgency to get these dorms filled, and we will deal with specifics later."
Misener said, however, that she is confident co-ed housing "will happen at some point."
While Nichols said he hopes co-ed housing will be implemented for all rooms at Penn, a push for complete gender-neutral housing isn't yet on the agenda for Penn administrators.
According to Leslie Delauter, director of College Houses and Academic Services, less than 2 percent of rooms on campus are gender-neutral. Eighty-nine students out of the 5,500 who live on campus applied for the rooming arrangement this academic year.
Demand for co-ed housing for next year has gone up 75 percent, Delauter said.
Cliff Jones, Wharton senior and chairman of the LGBT-interest Lambda Alliance, said he wants co-ed housing to be available for all students.
"We want the system to be blind to gender," he said.
