Gray Court to remain co-ed

A housing crisis in 2009 changed Gray Court, a previously all-male dormitory, into a co-ed environment.

Administrators said there are currently no plans to revert Gray Court to a single-sex dormitory.

Co-ed housing provides the housing department at the University with more flexibility because suites can be divided between male and females, said Carolyn Bigler, the assistant director of student housing. That flexibility ensures that many upperclassmen who request to live in apartments are able to do so.

When all buildings are single-sex, the housing office is restricted, Bigler said. At times, the incoming freshmen class has an influx of more women than men, or vice versa. This was the case with the class of 2013, in which co-ed living in Gray Court offered more leeway for the gender imbalance.

As a first-semester freshman, living with the same sex is one less thing to adjust to, along with academics, sports, and other things, Bigler said.

When asked about co-ed living on campus, Richmond College Dean Joe Boehman said, "The University is not going to have a ton of co-ed buildings. It's just not going to happen."

There's a unique perspective at the University of Richmond to be able to "look through the lenses of the coordinate system."

A main component behind single-sex living for first years is fostering a sense of self-awareness, Boehman said. Compared to campuses he's worked at before, only here could he ask, "'How do we see ourselves as men?'" It's an aspect he said he's fortunate to continue building here.

Although, if given the choice -- sophomore Miguel Rosario said that he would've chosen to live in a co-ed dorm last year.

Rosario now lives in Gray Court and said that everything is more equally divided, between the residents who share the building, compared to freshmen dorms of differing conditions, such as Marsh Hall and Lora Robins Court.

Ariana Scotti, a sophomore in Gray Court said co-ed living doesn't make much of a difference to her, and that it's easier to make friends. Others agreed that socially, co-ed living seems more natural.

Nonetheless, some students complained of too much noise in Gray Court. Sophomore Tierra Covey said that she hasn't be able to sleep well at night since school began because boys are loud. They frequently write rude messages on the whiteboard outside her door, she said. On Sunday there were markings along the walls of her hallway.

She once had to ask her RA to control boys who were yelling in her hall around 3 a.m. on a Thursday. As a result of the rowdiness, she is currently looking to transfer dorms.

Contact reporter Keon Monroe at keon.monroe@richmond.edu