Coed rooms work out well because they provide the chance to pick roommates purely on the basis of their personality, and not on the basis of their sex. This can often create a more harmonious room.
"I thought, what five people do I want to live with, not what five females," says Judy Zachariasen '86, who lives with Pellegrini and Stevens.
"Usually you have to round up five guys to live with. Some guys just sort of travel in packs. It's better if you can pick who you really want to live with," says Cunningham.
"If you find what you want in a roommate and can't have it because of the person is of the wrong sex, then that's ridiculous," says Caroline.
"When difficulties arise in rooming groups, it's because of personalities. I have never known a difficulty to arise because of gender" says Anne Aubrey, assistant to the master of Mather House. "People think it through very carefully, and they're prepared for any inconveniences."
The only time coed rooms don't seem to work out occurs when the roommates are boyfriend and girlfriend. One extreme situation occurred last year.
"Brian and Claire met and started dating freshman year, and the end of junior year they got engaged," says Isselbacher. "They decided to room together. Everybody thought it was a pretty safe bet, but it backfired."
"They broke off the engagement in October, but they were stuck together in one room for the rest of senior year," says Isselbacher. "They even started to date other people. Brian told me once that it was really awkward when he brought a date back home."
Option for Everyone?
"I really think it should be an option open to everyone. Some people do feel uncomfortable, but I think people should be able to chose," says Emerson.
All roommates contacted say that their living situations seem perfectly usual. "It's just not that big a deal," says Zachariasen.
"The fact that Betsy was a woman wasn't an issue after the first week," says Isselbacher.
"As for all the bathroom horror stories, you just wear a towel," says Cunningham.
The camaraderie with her roommates was the best part of the rooming situation, says Touhey. "It's great to come home with your drunken buddies from a party, and instead of breaking up into little room units or couple units, you still have that gang feeling carried over into brushing your teeth, listening to that last album, crawling into bed, waking up at two the next day and complaing about your hangovers together."