Circle circle dot dot now you've got a cootie shot. Great, that should last through college, the land of sex segregation. Dorm life has isolated men and women onto their own floors, fearing someone might actually mingle with the opposite sex.
Next fall, Holden Hall will join the handful of dorms with coed floors. The first floor of West Holden will become the living space for both sexes. According to the hall's director, students had been requesting coed housing for several years. This just offers them another option.
Although some might be alarmed by such a living situation, most students are not too worried about the switch. Others perceive it as a growing experience.
Coed floors can help prepare students for apartment housing. It can prepare students for the situation of living among members of the opposite sex much more than all-male or all-female floors can. Some disagree, citing religious or family reasons, but the existence of a few coed floors on campus should not affect these students.
The beauty of the situation lies within the student's ability to decide. If coed housing is not right for you, there are still same-sex floors to choose from. This option alone should be license enough for the change.
MSU provides many different housing opportunities for those who choose to live on campus. It's difficult to find a reason to complain. Dorm options such as community bathrooms, alcohol-free and non-smoking cover virtually all ends of the campus-living spectrum.
College is an institution for young adults, we're supposed to be growing up. Regardless of where students live, we're not naive. People will do what they want to do, and will do whatever it takes until they're satisfied. Separating men and women by floor won't eliminate that.
As long as both options are accommodating, there's no reason why Holden would be any different than already established coed dorms. Holmes, McDonel, Case, Wonders and Wilson halls are the only dorms on campus to offer male-female housing, and the addition of Holden would only provide another option.
