My fiancé and I had recently been fortunate enough to obtain one of the few apartments open in Carmel Apartments; however, Marquette's university housing Web site refused to "room" us together. I assumed it was simply because we weren't married yet and because we had different last names. I also assumed that if I went to talk to the apartment office and explained that I was to be married in June — just after the lease signing — there would be no problem in allowing a husband and wife to live together in university-owned apartments, especially after Marquette used to have a building specifically for married and graduate students.

I should have learned never to jump to conclusions because no sooner did I enter the apartment office was I sent out with a strict "no" regarding living with my future husband. The policy that restricts opposite-sex roommates extends even to married couples. This came as a double surprise to me because Marquette used to have married student housing and gave it to freshmen and because marriage is a sacrament in the Catholic church; therefore, marriage ought to be embraced by a Catholic school.

As my fiancé and I continued to ask questions about Marquette's policy, we learned the only reason for our denial due to marriage was that we might have kids. The fear that we may have children is solely a reason of occupancy. Marquette is worried that there won't be enough room in a one-bedroom apartment for children, which is understandable; however, it does not make the exclusion based upon marriage justified. The easiest way to overcome the "children obstacle" would be to write a clause stating that only two people may live in a one bedroom apartment and having any more occupants will cause the lease would be forfeited. In addition, to the best of my knowledge a one bedroom apartment in Campus Town is far larger than a one bedroom in Abbottsford (the building that was designated solely for married and graduate students) and children were "allowed" in Abbottsford. Yet, the logical inconsistency in Marquette's reasoning does not concern me nearly as much as the theological implications.

As a sacrament of the Catholic church, marriage should not only be tolerated but it ought to be embraced. I'm not saying that the administration should tell the student body to marry while in school, but I do believe that when students make the decision to marry, Marquette ought to support that decision as being in accordance with Christian teaching. I find it embarrassing to admit to attending a Catholic school that refuses to allow its married students to have university-owned apartments because they are married.

If Marquette would like to retain more of its upperclassmen and graduate students (especially graduate students), then Marquette should not forbid married students from living together in university-owned apartments. If children are a "problem," then there should be an occupancy clause for one-bedroom apartments limiting the number of occupants to two. But marriage, itself, should not be frowned upon by the administration; it should be embraced as a sacrament of the Catholic Church.