Sexual climate in dorms leaves most Yalies unfazed

Co-ed bathrooms. Safer sex meetings. Free condoms. The quest of five Orthodox students to live off campus has drawn attention to these and other controversial aspects of college life. While the University upholds its position that the residential colleges provide a valuable learning experience, Yalies have mixed feelings about some of dorm life's realities.

"I think all things could be better if there weren't co-ed bathrooms," Ellen Huang, BK '00, a member of Campus Crusade for Christ, said. "As it is, it's a far cry from making me feel like this is the most acceptable and compatible place for people with a variety of beliefs."

Others labeled the University's approach to sex education overly agressive and inappropriate. "I think having safer sex lectures and condoms available outside freshman counselors' doors is obscene," Nguyen Vo, BK '00, said. "It's good to have pamphlets and fliers and things like that, but I think mandatory meetings are inappropriate. That's not why you come to Yale, but it's one of the first things you hear about once you get here."

University officials respond that an open environment is necessary in order to protect students from the dangers of unprotected sex. According to Calhoun Dean Stephen Lassonde, "The feeling of the Administration is correct that in a world of AIDS where sex can be fatal, it's necessary to have this kind of information available."

Students who are uncomfortable with the safe sex meetings seem to be in the minority. Deans and freshman counselors report few complaints about mandatory safer sex workshops, although Davenport Dean Susan Wennemyr said that one Christian student who opposed pre-marital sex refused to attend a meeting.

"I got a lot of positive feedback from my counselees about the safer sex meetings," freshman counselor Natasha Gianvecchio, TC '98, said.

Co-ed bathrooms also seem not to concern most students. "Co-ed bathrooms don't bother me," Janice Kim, BR '00, said. "I think generally people are respectful of other people's privacy."

Deans point out, however, that they are willing to make accommodations for those who feel uncomfortable using co-ed bathrooms. Silliman Dean Hugh Flick stated that in his college, upperclassmen may request rooms on the single-sex floors where freshmen live. Lassonde explained that since suites in Calhoun are accessible from two entryways, it is possible to designate single-sex bathrooms. In some colleges, students are also able to choose suites with internal bathrooms.

Either way, students and administrators agree that respect for other people's values and beliefs is essential.

"We need to stress that a variety of lifestyles are accepted here and that we're here to learn from each other as much as from our professors," freshman counselor Daniel Schwartz, JE '98, said.

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