No foolin’.

When I first read the recent news article about coed dorm rooms, I was just as surprised.

More than twenty universities within the U.S. now permit students of the opposite gender to share dormitory rooms on campus. Some universities adopted the policy of coed dorm rooms back in 2005 and many have since initiated the new rule.

Students are primarily willing and eager to share a room with the opposite gender because they’re buddies – not because they’re rolling in the hay. Naturally, students who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender appreciate the gender-neutral option. Not only does it help LGBT students be more comfortable in their personal space, it also prevents unwanted situations with same-gender students who may not accept them.

But some universities are not so progressively minded. Their administrations claim that same-gender dorm rooms exist on campuses to protect students, especially during their potentially vulnerable first year away from home.

Of course, you always have the freedom of living with whomever (and wherever) when you’re enrolled at an online college. A big draw of earning your degree online is not only the flexibility of going to class at your own convenience, but remaining comfortable in your own residence without having to uproot – whoever your roommate may be. Plus you’re allowed to have a dog.