Having a friend as a roommate instead of a stranger may significantly reduce stress caused by the room selection process. However, if students desire to live with a best friend of the opposite sex or a significant other, on-campus housing is not an option, according to UB's housing policy.
"It's better to live with people you know, especially if they went to high school with you," said Darnell Harrison, a sophomore engineering major. "Good or bad, at least you know what you are getting into."
The policy of the University Residence Halls does not allow members of the opposite sex to live together, due to the possibility of complicated interpersonal relationships.
Associate Director of Housing Operations Thomas R. Tiberi said that UB has never allowed co-ed living arrangements in on-campus residence halls, with the exception of the Flickinger Court Apartments, which are designed to house graduate students.
"It has been a longstanding tradition of UB and the majority of universities and colleges in the United States to not assign males and females to the same room," said Tiberi. "This policy has been in place since the establishment of the University at Buffalo."
Some students, though, disagree with this policy.
"If the university is worried about sex happening, what about homosexuals? They are of the same sex," said Jennifer Murray, a sophomore mathematics major. "And some girls are more comfortable living with guys instead of girls. What if your best friend for your whole life is of the opposite sex, why can't you room with them?"
The university has its reasons for not allowing members of the opposite sex to room together, Tiberi said.
"The reasons revolve around the dynamics of relationships among people of the opposite sex," he said. "For example, I'm sure there would be students that would want to live together that also date. If they were to break up, it would be very difficult for them to live together."
According to Tiberi, a recent study at SUNY Binghamton found that co-ed living would have adverse effects because the university is not equipped to accommodate the need for room changes when students do not get along.
"With the increased demand for student housing over the past 10 years, there would not be a lot of options for changing rooms," said Tiberi.
Mike Limina, a sophomore Spanish major, said students should be able to determine their living situation independent of the university.
"If we're old enough to live on our own, I don't think the university has the right to determine who we live with," he said.
Van Cur, a junior economics major, said it would ultimately be in the university's best interest to offer co-ed rooming as an option for students.
"If someone wanted to dorm with their girlfriend, I wouldn't have a strong objection to it. If the university doesn't want to lose money to outside living places, then they should look into co-ed living," said Cur.
Other students said that not having a choice about whom they live with can have unpleasant results.
"I had a roommate who was quite a character," said Danielle Wilbur, a sophomore biotechnology and pre-med major. "I think she ate the moldy food that I was harvesting for evolutionary biology my freshman year."
For those who would like to room with a member of the opposite sex, Stefanie Aiello, a senior biology major, has an idea of how the university can be more accommodating.
"Not everyone can get an apartment. I think that the university should try to designate two floors of a building where students can co-ed room if they want to. Co-ed rooming is not a bad thing, and we should have the option," she said.
Tiberi said UB would not have any strong objections to considering this option.
"If we had an overwhelming number of requests for males and females to live together, we would certainly consider it," he said. "In my years of coordinating room assignments here at UB, I have never been asked by an undergraduate if he or she could live with someone of the opposite sex."
