College is a time when you get to go out, break free from your parents and make your own rules, right? Wrong.
One rule has already been made for you that lasts at least three years after you’re out of the house and attending Otterbein University. You may not share a dorm room with, nor have your significant other, spend the night in your dorm room — if you’re straight.
Otterbein requires same sex rooming. If you are gay or lesbian, how could the university tell you that you may not share a room with your boyfriend or girlfriend? They can’t.
For a small, liberal arts college located in a conservative community, Otterbein is relatively GLBTQ friendly.
Therefore, I don’t really understand why they will not give heterosexual students the same treatment they give gay or lesbian students. Sure, it might be considered more complex, but fair is fair.
According to Laura Farley, administrative assistant of Resident Life, there is no policy in place that allows coed dorm rooms.
At this point, you may be thinking this is a bad idea because at this age you’re too young to live with someone you’re in a relationship with since there is a small chance you’re going to stay together or because it’s against your beliefs.
While all this may be true, there are valid points to consider alternatively.
The first being what others do has no effect on what you choose to do, you may think couples living together may cause drama for you, but not if the university deemed a certain building as the “coed dorms.” That way you wouldn’t have to see it, be around it or hear it.
Secondly, college is a time for new experiences. This includes relationship experiences.
If the university were to allow you to live with whomever you wanted, you would learn rather quickly what works in a relationship and what doesn’t.
It would be essentially the same learning experience as an individual not getting along with their assigned roommate.
Students switch dorms all the time. Although there might be more emotional obstacles, chances are even if it might not have been a fun experience, it was probably insightful in some way.
Additionally, how many friends do you have who spend the night at their boyfriends or girlfriends dorm all the time? You probably know of at least one.
If the school allows men and women to share a room, there would be less rule breaking and give the Resident Assistants a chance to step back.
Wouldn’t it be less complicated to be able to stay the night with whoever you wanted to, whenever you wanted to?
Another valid point, that I’m sure is ringing in your head right now, is the infamous topic of choice: sex. Letting boyfriends and girlfriends live with each other would not be a sign of the school giving them the thumbs up to have as much sex as they want, because let’s face it — it’s happening anyway.
Couples have sex. In dorm rooms. At Otterbein. It happens whether we like it or not. Just because it’s a school rule that heterosexual couples can’t spend the night with each other doesn’t mean people always follow it. We have all broken rules, and this is a common offense.
Something else that some should be reminded of is the fact that not all couples have sex. There are celibate couples on campus and they should have the right to live with each other, too.
The point is that if you are in a relationship and living in a dorm together, all your choices as a couple are still your own.
And if things don’t work out living together, there is always the option of moving out and living in separate dorms.
I simply don’t see a problem. If we are giving lesbian and gay couples the opportunity to live together, why shouldn’t we have the same rules for straight couples?
There could be, and should be, rules regulating this if it were to be come a reality. We could be sure that if it became a problem in any way, Otterbein would find a professional way to step in and make a change.
But other than that, straight couples would sign the same agreement, with a few minor changes, that every other student signs when they come to Otterbein and live in a dorm.
In the mean time, if you’d like to see coed dorm rooms as an option, Laura Farley noted any student can go before the Student Life Committee and make their point.
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