Many O'Donnell Hall students are concerned that "the good old boys" atmosphere at Marquette will be no longer after this year.

Students raised their concern at a hall council meeting Tuesday night over a proposal from the Office of Residence Life to make the dorm coed next year.

Dean of Residence Life Jim McMahon was the keynote speaker at the meeting to address the proposal that has been presented to the Residence Life Advisory Board.

"We in Residence Life have a responsibility to do a variety of things to provide the kind of housing students want," McMahon said.

Currently there is not enough coed housing on campus for incoming students, he said.

According to McMahon, the proposal was spurred from a diminishing trend in interest in single-sex housing from prospective students. He said only 44 students in the class of 2010 had listed O'Donnell as their first choice on housing applications.

Diminished interest in the dorm stemmed from its single-sex nature, not its location or its amenities, he said.

There was similar diminishing interest in Cobeen Hall, with only 95 students listing the all-girls dorm as their first choice.

The Residence Life Advisory Board met two weeks ago and will meet again Monday to discuss the issue. The topic will also be addressed at Thursday night's MUSG meeting. McMahon said a final decision on whether or not to change O'Donnell would be made in mid-October.

The debate "has been going on for awhile," he said.

He added that he does not feel right about making such a change without student input.

Four years ago O'Donnell, which was originally an all-female dorm, housed a floor of women. McMahon said "it was a terrific experience for everyone involved." If O'Donnell were to be converted permanently, only one floor would probably house females, he said.

Chris Burrell, a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences, addressed his fellow residents in an impassioned speech against the proposal.

"It is the brothers of this hall that make it O'Donnell," he said. "I am proud to be a brother of this community. I implore you, my brothers and the RHA, not to change the status quo."

McMahon argued that O'Donnell's sense of community would not be lost with the conversion.

"Keep in mind that it's the people with whom you live who make a difference in the community," he said.

According to McMahon, the Residence Life Advisory Board is looking at other Jesuit schools and their single sex versus coed dorm options, which may influence Marquette's decision.

The issue of changing Cobeen Hall to a coed dorm was also raised by students who said the difference in building size between Cobeen and O'Donnell would make it more logical to convert Cobeen.

McMahon reiterated that the proposal tries to address the most demand for students and that there was more interest from prospective students in an all-female dorm compared to an all-male dorm.

Dan Lindberg, a freshman in the College of Business Administration, expressed concern over Catholic traditions being breached by coed dorms.

Lindberg said prospective students and parents might have trouble endorsing Marquette because of its lack of single-sex dorms.

"It's in the Catholic tradition to have single-sex dorms," he said.

McMahon responded saying that coed dorms do not equate to a rise in promiscuity or sex. He said the proposal seeks to foster the learning and development of mature relationships between members of the opposite sex.

"We hold very true to Catholic heritage and values and don't think this will diminish that," McMahon said.

Arthur Orville, a freshman in the College of Business Administration, expressed his support of the proposal saying O'Donnell residents "lose a little bit" by not being able to interact with females and that the dorm's camaraderie comes from its size rather than its gender makeup.

"It's less realistic to be in a single sex-dorm," Orville said.