Scene Fifty-Four Point Five: Roommates

Privacy is as much a priority as you make it and, as indicated by "my" previous post, I sometimes slack off. I leave my room door open. Neglect to connect my bike lock. Leave my laptop logged in when I shower.

My roommate, Ben Katz, took advantage of my trust. And, judging by the content of his post, my music library as well. Here's the song he sourced:

I suppose now is as good a time as ever to talk about gender neutral housing.

No, 'Ben' isn't one of those gender-ambiguous nicknames that college students sometimes acquire. My roommate is a man. This is possible because at Dartmouth, in some clusters at least, a number of rooms are specified as available to residents of any and all genders. As far as I am aware none of these rooms actually require residents to share bedrooms (the room that Ben and I have is a two-room double), but we do share a bathroom. Peacefully, I'll add. Occasional assaults upon my privacy notwithstanding, we're wonderfully compatible roomies.

Even though most gender neutral rooms go to same-sex roommate pairs, I'm really glad that Dartmouth recognizes the diverse needs of its student body in this way. And as The Dartmouth reported in 2007, the first year that this option was available, it's well-received. Who knows, maybe someday all housing will be categorized as "gender neutral" and it will be up to all students to determine which fit is best for them.