Co-ed dorms, while the norm by majority, are reported to present special problems for students.
About 90 percent of dormitories on the nation's college and university campuses are now co-ed. Pat Fagan of the Family Research Council reports that a study in the Journal of American College Health suggests looking into several factors, including abuse of alcohol. "As one would expect, it's highest in the co-ed dorms, [as it is] two and a half times higher." Fagan mentions that this "is rather significant because these students are binge drinking over once a week." Other studies have shown that college-aged binge drinkers become alcoholics later in life on a higher level than non-binge drinkers. The study of more than 500 students from five campuses nationwide also found a higher use of pornography in co-ed dorms and accounts for more intimate behavior between students. "Co-ed dorms send a signal condoned by the university that [leads students to think], 'let's go to university, let's party, let's get drunk and let's bed the girls or have the girls bed the boys.'" Fagan notes that this is "not exactly what parents want universities to be doing or facilitating for their children." College housing offices usually assume that students prefer co-ed housing, giving them the choice to opt out of the living situation if same-gender dormitories are available. While few exercise this option, Fagan adds that universities need to re-examine the concept of co-ed dormitories and fight against binge drinking, or drinking altogether. Furthermore, he feels that parents may want to examine ways to better prepare their children for the higher-education experience.
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