TO THE EDITOR:
In Wednesday’s article on strides being made towards the University’s approval of gender-neutral housing, students fought for an “equal opportunity” for those of varying sexual orientations, but in reality men and women are different.
No matter sexual orientation, we have different hygiene routines, different physical and mental needs. Our society should be supporting restraint from sexual involvement, not facilitating it.
While this would be a good opportunity for a large group of students to feel more comfortable, there will always be those who sign up for this new style of housing with ill intentions.
Rejected by current Chancellor Holden Thorp, students continue to push this movement forward. A 10-week campaign, urging students to send in letters, videos, anything that will raise support for changing the University’s decision, has raised awareness of the possibility.
The argument was made to include and be accepting towards every student. By keeping dorm and resident life based on genders as it currently is, there is no discriminating or excluding, but simply acknowledgement that the two genders are different and always will be.
There has to be some sort of boundary put up, or else students will no longer have a sense of what is sociably appropriate.
Avoiding this issue of discomfort could be as simple as putting in the effort to find a like-minded roommate before the start of school.
There are fundamental differences between men and women, and a sense of appropriateness that comes with these differences should be respected.
Addie McElwee ’16
Undecided
