The University offers a variety of options to those in room draw, from smoke-free to independent. But one it doesn't offer is coed suites. There are a several good reasons to do this. Many friendships develop across gender lines, and these students should be allowed to room with their friends regardless of sex. Coed housing allows students to both exercise personal choice and experiment with differing modes of living — both goals that any academic institution should foster.
Princeton, however, sees things differently and continues to support a ban on voluntary coed housing. Dean of Undergraduate Students Kathleen Deignan wrote in an email: "There are many complexities associated with living in the close quarters of a diverse residential community." Students would have less privacy and couples might break up, creating awkward situations the University might have to deal with.
These are both valid concerns. But even though students lose some privacy, there is no reason why coed suites with separate rooms for each sex wouldn't provide enough personal space. Such a setup would guarantee as much privacy as current coed living spaces where male and female students live right next to each other and provide safety net if relationships go awry. We acknowledge this isn't enforceable, but couples already live together — heterosexual couples illicitly and homosexual ones without having to break the rules. And if problems arise, there will still be single-sex options within the suite.
Princeton would not be the first to offer coed housing. Haverford, Swarthmore, Brown and Wesleyan offer coed housing in at least some of their units. At Brown, coed suites are available in assigned parts of dorms, and the allotted areas got bigger as demand continued to outpace supply.
The University should trust its students to make smart decisions. Even if these choices, sometimes, turn out for the worse, students should be allowed to accept the consequences of their actions. At the very least, Princeton should experiment with the idea and test the demand for coed suites. There is so little to lose and giving students more freedom — along with the responsibility to choose well — can only help students mature.
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