Spring Break
The Daily OrangeCoed bathrooms are more than awkward, they're illegal
By Rob Howard
Posted: 9/8/03, 3:17 AM EST Section: Feature
There is a mystical place in every residence hall - a place where lovers rendez-vous, a place where friends are lost and made, a place where lives are forever changed. That special place: the bathroom.
The bathroom can be crazy when 40 people share six showers, but life gets even wilder when members of the opposite sex join the fray. Although a coed bathroom seems like a party, there's bad news. Like many other college festivities, it's illegal.
No bathroom on campus can be officially labeled coed - it's a violation of both Syracuse University policy and New York state building codes. But since the bathrooms are rarely monitored, this rule is difficult to enforce.
"My understanding is that single-gender bathrooms have always been a policy at SU," Office of Residence Life Assistant Director Dave Rosch said. "While mixed-gender bathrooms may sound like a good idea to some, not all students are comfortable with it."
Since guarding the bathroom isn't one of the resident advisers' top priorities, Rosch added, violations of the rule aren't surprising.
"There will most likely be times when a male will use a female bathroom (or vice versa)," he said. "It is not SU's policy to officially allow this."
Even so, the shared bathroom has long been a cornerstone of dorm lore. Whether it's a matter of convenience, indifference or just drunkenness, students have no shortage of excuses for using the wrong bathroom. And on the surface, it can seem like a good idea.
"If you don't know the people, it's a little uncomfortable," sophomore public relations major Meghan Chrisner said. "But if they're people you know and are comfortable with, then it doesn't bother me."
"It doesn't bother me either way," said Pat Bowles, a sophomore aerospace engineering major. "As long as there are still shower curtains, I guess it's cool."
Close Encounters
Even if it saves a walk to the opposite end of the dorm, most agree it would be hard to adapt to a full-time coed bathroom. It's easy to be polite and friendly while freshening up or brushing your teeth, but not all bathroom chores are so innocent. And few things are worse than accidentally getting intimate with an unsuspecting floormate.
The bathroom can be crazy when 40 people share six showers, but life gets even wilder when members of the opposite sex join the fray. Although a coed bathroom seems like a party, there's bad news. Like many other college festivities, it's illegal.
No bathroom on campus can be officially labeled coed - it's a violation of both Syracuse University policy and New York state building codes. But since the bathrooms are rarely monitored, this rule is difficult to enforce.
"My understanding is that single-gender bathrooms have always been a policy at SU," Office of Residence Life Assistant Director Dave Rosch said. "While mixed-gender bathrooms may sound like a good idea to some, not all students are comfortable with it."
Since guarding the bathroom isn't one of the resident advisers' top priorities, Rosch added, violations of the rule aren't surprising.
"There will most likely be times when a male will use a female bathroom (or vice versa)," he said. "It is not SU's policy to officially allow this."
Even so, the shared bathroom has long been a cornerstone of dorm lore. Whether it's a matter of convenience, indifference or just drunkenness, students have no shortage of excuses for using the wrong bathroom. And on the surface, it can seem like a good idea.
"If you don't know the people, it's a little uncomfortable," sophomore public relations major Meghan Chrisner said. "But if they're people you know and are comfortable with, then it doesn't bother me."
"It doesn't bother me either way," said Pat Bowles, a sophomore aerospace engineering major. "As long as there are still shower curtains, I guess it's cool."
Close Encounters
Even if it saves a walk to the opposite end of the dorm, most agree it would be hard to adapt to a full-time coed bathroom. It's easy to be polite and friendly while freshening up or brushing your teeth, but not all bathroom chores are so innocent. And few things are worse than accidentally getting intimate with an unsuspecting floormate.
