Harvard may allow male and female students to room together.
A bill passed by Harvard's Undergraduate Council (UC) calls for the College to allow students to live with members of the opposite sex, according to The Harvard Crimson.
While the student handbook says the College does not "ordinarily permit" co-ed rooming, "House Masters may grant exceptions" if certain conditions are met. The story goes on to quote the bill's author, Eric Kouskalis who says the current policy is "paternalistic in that it assumes the College can make better decisions in who students can live with than the students themselves."
A number of groups on campus welcome the change in living arrangements including Harvard's College Democrats and Harvard's Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, and Supporters Alliance (BGLTSA), according to the article.
The Radcliffe Union of Students put out a statement saying "mixed-gender rooms will lead to a greater understanding of gender-related issues for all undergraduates."
Oh, I bet!
And, I imagine each student will receive an additional degree in sex education.
Now, would be a good time to remind everyone that a long, long time ago, when Harvard was founded, it was a Bible college.
I digress.
Some students are worried that co-ed rooming will lead to an increase in sexual assault and violence, writes the Crimson.
"My primary concern is that a lot of studies show that when two members of different genders room together there's an increased chance of abuse," said one student. "If there's a dating couple that decides to room together, there might be an increased probability of rape, an increased probability of sexual abuse."
But, according to the article, Kouskalis, the bill’s author, "said the housing director at the University of Pennsylvania told him the Philadelphia school had 'absolutely no issues with sexual violence or sexual assault in co-ed rooms' when a policy permitting co-ed rooming was instituted last fall."
The Crimson notes that the Undergraduate Council’s bill will now go to the Committee on House Life.
