What do you do when your daughter’s new college roommate is John?
According to an Associated Press article I came across recently, there are about two dozen colleges and universities in this country that allow young men and women to share a room on campus.
Dubbed the mixed-gender housing movement, students have a choice to room with the opposite sex. Officials at most of these colleges reportedly say romantic relationships among these roommates are discouraged. And some say having a choice is just another example of how they are tearing down walls.
But as if dealing with a new roommate, a total stranger, isn’t hard enough, I can’t imagine wanting to make the situation even more complex by having to live with a roomie in college who is of the opposite gender.
Back in my day (which was not that long ago) we couldn’t dare think of sharing a bedroom on campus with the opposite sex. Back then having a co-ed dorm seemed like a big deal. And although we had coed dorms, men and women were separated by floors.
While I have no qualms with adults rooming with whatever sex they choose, I have some doubts about these arrangements on a college level, especially among young college students.
While some say they’re just roomies, get over it, the parent and former college student in me, has second thoughts.
