Columbia University students will soon be able to live in sin — on their parents’ dime.
A new “gender-neutral” housing policy that will allow boys and girls to shack up together in campus housing is expected to be implemented by the Ivy League school beginning next fall, university sources said.
The new rules would allow sophomores, juniors and seniors living on the Morningside Heights quad to choose their roommates — regardless of their sex — and live in any dorm room on campus. The option would not be available to incoming freshmen.
For young couples in love, sharing a room could put an end to the infamous “walk of shame” — the early-morning cross-campus trek back to a separate dorm in the previous night’s clothes.
The proposal would also ease awkward living situations for gay and lesbian students, who don’t always feel comfortable living with a same-sex roommate.
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Planning to move in together are 19-year-old sophomores Nailah Robinson and Barry Weinberg. She’s straight, he’s gay; she’s single, and he has a boyfriend.
Robinson says she isn’t worried about sharing a bathroom and 200-square-foot bedroom with her best friend — who just happens to be a man.
“Barry is always in my room anyway,” said Robinson, a North Carolina native majoring in film studies and psychology. “My parents don’t care. My mom loves Barry. I know I wouldn’t mesh well as a roommate with most of my female friends.”
Weinberg said living with his best girlfriend was a no-brainer.
“I have friends who are gay who are in very difficult living situations with other guys,” said Weinberg, a political science major. “In other cities, you could move off campus and live with whomever you wanted, but in Manhattan, you can’t really afford to live off campus.”
And if a boyfriend sleeps over next fall?
“I’m fine with three in a room,” said Robinson, “as long as I get the majority of closet space.”
While gay and lesbian student groups support the policy change, critics say allowing romantic young couples to room together is a recipe for disaster.
“It will damage the community on the floor if a couple moves in together and then is fighting all the time,” said sophomore Alex Frouman, 21, a student council representative. “It’s incredibly difficult to get a room change. The proposal is bad because of that risk that could adversely effect everyone on the hall.”
But young lovers might not be easily dissuaded from the convenience of a shared bed.
“You’ll probably see senior couples who have been dating a while maybe moving in together,” said senior Sarah Weiss, 21, student council vice president of policy. “They can’t mandate against that happening.”
Some parents say the proposal is over the top.
“I was shocked enough last year when we moved our son in and we saw that guys and girls shared a bathroom on the hall,” said Laura Hannon, whose son, Michael, is a Columbia sophomore.
“If it had been our daughter, we would have turned around and walked straight out. As far as coed roommates go, that would be insane. If our child chose to do that, we would opt out.”
A spokesman for Columbia said the university would not comment on the housing proposal.