Stanford U. considers coed dorm rooms

PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 29 (UPI) -- Stanford administrators are trying to figure out how to take the final step in coeducation at the California university -- coed dorm rooms.

Many of the students pushing for the change say that it is about comfort, not about sex -- although some of them are couples who say they should be free to share a room if they wish.

"Our motivation is that to be a healthy student, you need to feel comfortable in your living space," Katherine Roubous, a senior and organizer of the Genderblind Task Force, told the San Jose Mercury News.

Stanford opened its first coed dorms in 1966, although men and women originally lived on different floors. About 30 colleges already allow students of opposite sex to live together.

The major advocates of the change at Stanford are transgender students.

Thomas Schultz, a freshman who belongs to the Stanford Conservative Society, said he does not believe many students really want coed rooms. He also said that some "creepy guys" might opt for coed living to exploit female roommates.