Hofstra follows a typical co-ed dorming system, which involves having both young men and young women living in the same residence hall or floor. But in other colleges, a new concept of co-ed living is allowing people of the opposite sex to live in the same dorm rooms or suites.
It is possible to argue that in today’s society, anything should be allowed because it is our “basic rights” as humans to do whatever we wish. Because college students are adults now, they should be able to live with whoever they want, right? Most colleges restrict girls and boys from being roommates, but should they be separate?
It’s hard for any one person to decide which system of living would be the most beneficial for any single college student. It’s easy to argue that living in a room with only girls or only boys is just as difficult as it would be to live with someone of the opposite sex. I, however, don’t see that as possible.
As a college student swamped with homework, papers, extracurricular activities and social life, I feel that living with someone of the opposite sex would only provide an extra and unnecessary distraction.
Whether a female and a male choose to be each other’s roommates or are randomly placed in the same room, the manner of living between two people of the opposite sex would be extremely distracting and unconventional for the both of them.
It is natural for young men and women, who many presume to be flooded with overactive hormones, to long for the company of someone of the opposing gender. However, the continuous company of that someone could possibly endanger their productivity and willpower to focus on studies.
I am someone who ardently promotes the benefits of mixing young men and women in the same halls, floors, and houses. I believe that open exposure to people of the opposite sex can assist college students in the process of maturing and preparing for life in the “real world.”
In the professional world, men and women are forced to adapt with the opposite sex in their day-to-day lives, and co-ed living is a great way to help prepare young adults for that aspect of life. On the other hand, students who attend college tend to have excessively busy lives, and must learn how to balance their social and academic lives appropriately.
College students (in general) do not attend college for the sole reason of getting to know the opposite sex. Going to college means focusing on academics, and learning how to ignore the distractions around you in order to complete your goals.
There are also many technical factors to this subject. If a young man and woman are roommates and they are dating, what will happen when they break up? Would an RA or resident director want to put up with whiny boys and girls deciding they don’t want to room together anymore because someone’s feelings were hurt or they got into a big fight? Probably not. Those types of situations are a waste of time and energy.
There is, of course, an exception. I believe that in the rare case that two college students are legally married, attending the same college and living on campus, they should have the option to live together. The college should not be able to tell two people who are bonded by legitimate matrimony that they must live with other people instead.
