During my senior year of high school, when I was carefully evaluating the benefits of Michigan State, Minnesota and UW-Madison, housing was a key issue. Out of all three schools, Madison was the only one to offer an all-girls dorm. This played a significant role in my decision because I wasn't sure I was ready for the co-ed living experience.
I am now in my second year at Elizabeth Waters and will be returning next year. I really like the unique atmosphere an all-women's dorm creates. Unfortunately, over the past few years fewer female freshman have selected it as their first choice. Next fall, the limited visitation house will be reduced from two floors to one, and it's probable that housing is slowly beginning to consider the possibility of Liz becoming co-ed in the future.
Although I cannot speak for all the residents in my building, I believe this is a terrible idea. Living in an all-women's environment makes many residents feel more secure. Compared to other dorms, it tends to be less wild and is a more enjoyable place to live overall. Additionally, it is usually very quiet in the halls, allowing residents to study in their rooms rather than going to the library. At night, it's great to be able to go to the bathroom in my pajamas without worrying about running into any guys. Residents are also provided with the unique opportunity of being able to attend a variety of programs on women's issues without leaving their dorm.
Perhaps its greatest asset is the limited visitation house which prohibits residents from having male guests between 2 a.m. and 9 a.m. I loved living there last year because I didn't have to worry about having a roommate who had a different guy staying over every night and listening to them having wild sex all night long (my biggest fear about living in the dorms). The only reason I moved to a different house was because I wanted a single room. This option is crucial to making some women feel comfortable living in the dorms. Therefore, it is troublesome that fewer residents will be able to live there next year.
If Liz becomes co-ed, the atmosphere will probably be very different. For one thing, with its central location, picturesque view of the lake and large rooms, many housing residents would be vying to move in. Furthermore, the admission of males would significantly change the living environment.
Slichter Hall originally housed only female residents and was converted into a co-ed dorm in the fall of 1992. One former resident who lived there during that transition commented, \Freshman year, we had a really nice dorm, and if we wanted to hang out with the guys, we could basically go across the street and hang out with them. The next year, when the guys moved in, it was extremely noisy and it smelled. They gave the guys the floor that had an oven on it, and a group of them started the dorm on fire because they tried to reheat a pizza while it was still in the cardboard box."" It is certain that Liz would experience some of the same changes.
Being the last all-women's residence hall on campus makes it vital that Liz is not made co-ed. Many women choose to live here and would not feel comfortable living in a co-ed residence hall. Over the years Liz has been referred to as ""The Virgin Vault"" and people have incorrectly assumed that anyone who chooses to live here is quite strange, but that is completely untrue. Residents frequently have male guests, many have boyfriends and all have numerous opportunities to meet males on campus. If this information could be communicated more clearly to prospective and current students, more people would choose to live here. Rather than focusing on facts and figures, housing administrators should take a closer look at the community and protect it from being destroyed.
