 "Photo: Davod Nematpour/O’Collegian")
A recent study found students who live in coed housing are more likely to engage in binge drinking and sexual activities than those living in single-gender housing.
But the results just reaffirm the norm, OSU officials said.
Students living in coed housing were almost 2.5 times more likely than those in same-sex housings to admit to binge drinking on a weekly basis, according to the study published in the November issue of the Journal of American College Health.
The study also found 56 percent of students in coed housing admitted having a sexual partner in the past year as opposed to the 37 percent of students living in single-sex housing.
More than 500 students from five universities across the United States participated in the study.
“Now, that doesn’t mean coed housing causes it,” said Matthew Brown, director of housing and residential life at OSU. “I think the most important thing is OSU offers single-sex housing and we’ll continue to offer single-sex housing to those who want it.”
Brown said, according to another national research survey, 44 percent of college students binge drink.
“I think the kids in coed housing are just closer to the norm,” he said.
Brown said the study might have missed looking into the pre-existing attitudes or experiences of students prior to college.
“My guess is the students who choose to live in coed housing probably are also making choices to engage in alcohol use and sexual activity before they even got to college.”
Brown said Kerr-Drummond is the single-sex housing on campus, accounting for 1,000 of the 4,800 on-campus students.
“The truth is it’s really close to the norm for college students, whereas single-sex is pretty low,” Brown said. “But when you initially look at the study and see these big differences, it makes it seem like, ‘Wow, coed housing, oh my goodness, what’s going on?’ ”
Steve Rogers, university health services director, said between 40 and 50 percent of students who use alcohol report having adverse experiences — a self-reported student statistic.
“You can get tossed from the university, you can get fined, you can go to jail — all this stuff can mess people’s lives up,” Rogers said. “I think the fact we have between 40 and 50 percent consistently reporting that alcohol has had an adverse impact on their life is something to be concerned about.”
Rogers also said engaging in sexual activity could have consequences, including sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies.
He said UHS offers a range of programming events relating to alcohol and sex.
According to UHS statistics, during the fall 2008 semester, UHS held 12 programs and events with 1,240 participants. During the spring of 2009, UHS held 10 programs and events that garnered 1,104 participants.
Rob Phipps, a resident adviser in Wentz, said he was surprised by the study and doesn’t necessarily find it to be true regarding his experience at OSU.
Phipps, who has been a resident assistant in single-sex and coed housing, said he found his coed residents have had better judgment and flourished in the environment.
“The guys seem to act more mature now that there are girls around, and the girls tend to be the voice of reason, which isn’t always the case on a single-sex floor,” he said.
Phipps said the option of coed or single-sex housing can help avoid putting students in these situations before they can handle it.
“If a resident wants to get away from binge drinking or lots of promiscuous sex, studies show that getting involved on campus or in your residential hall provides a safe way to meet people with common interests and stay out of bad situations,” he said.
Brown said students need to think about how decisions could affect them later in life.
“One night of fun can lead to a lifetime of anguish, so try to make smart decisions and think about the consequences,” Brown said.
He said Residential Life will continue to offer single-sex housing for students.
“The study, for us, has been good because it’s really helped us understand that there are some real benefits from single-sex housing,” Brown said.
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