"We cannot, in good conscience, live in a placewhere women are permitted in men's rooms, andwhere visiting men can traipse through the commonhalls on the women's floors--in various stages ofundress--in the middle of the night," Hack wrotein a New York Times opinion piece Sept. 8.

But Yale officials say the residential collegesystem is a crucial element of campus life andthat a Yale education would be incomplete withoutthe student interaction the college systemprovides.

"The system is designed to expose students tothe diversity of the student population," Conroysaid. "It is an integral part of a Yaleeducation."

The students--then first-years RachelWolgelerntner, Batsheva Greer and Hack as well assophomores Lisa Friedman and JeremyHershman--filed the lawsuit in October.Wolgelerntner dropped her name from the suit afterdeciding to marry.

Unanswered Questions

At the heart of the lawsuit was the contentionthat Yale had violated the students' first, fourthand fourteenth amendment rights by interferingwith their free exercise of religion.

But to be held to these laws and otherantidiscrimination statutes, Yale would have to beconsidered a "government entity," a claim whichthe judge rejected.

While the university does receive significantfederal, state and local funding, Covello ruledYale "cannot be considered a state actor" becausethe state of Connecticut does not "appoint amajority of the members to Yale's governingboard."

Covello also decided the university had notviolated the federal Fair Housing Act because Yalehad not denied the students housing based on theirreligion--merely given them housing they did notlike.

"Yale has neither refused to provide residencehall accommodations to the students nor denied theplaintiffs rooms in the residence halls," Covellowrote in the decision.

The students also claimed Yale engaged inmonopolistic practices by requiring first andsecond-year students to live on campus, therebymonopolizing the housing market for Yaleundergraduates.

But the judge ruled Yale "does not possess thecharacter of uniqueness needed to confer marketpower," and students could have "opted to attend adifferent college or university if they were notsatisfied with Yale's housing policy.