Over the past five years, a handful of colleges and universities have changed their housing policies to allow students of the opposite sex to share rooms in various capacities.,”

Marquette can live with housing students of the opposite sex in the same building – and in university apartments, even on the same floor. But in the same room? Residence Life officials say that's an option students will have to live without.

Over the past five years, a handful of colleges and universities have changed their housing policies to allow students of the opposite sex to share rooms in various capacities.

Some policies are geared primarily to accommodate transgender students. The University of Michigan's policy, for example, states a goal of providing a "safe, comfortable and dignified living experience" for all students.

Others, like the University of Pennsylvania's policy, adopted in 2005, offer gender-neutral housing to all students who request it. Pennsylvania and most other schools with similar policies only offer the option to students who meet standing requirements and do not offer mixed-gender housing to first-year students.

At Clark University in Worcester, Mass., students who have completed their first year may request mixed-gender housing whether they are transgender, gay or lesbian or simply more comfortable living with a roommate of the opposite sex, according to a policy adopted last year.

The policy "helps create an environment that acknowledges, appreciates and respects the diverse nature of the Clark student body, while giving students more options in finding a roommate who is truly compatible," according to a statement on the school's Web site.

Is there a chance Marquette might follow suit with its own policies? Not according to James McMahon, dean of residence life and assistant vice president for student affairs.

McMahon said mixed-gender housing options might work for some schools, but not Marquette.

"If you look at those schools that are doing that (adopting such policies), they tend to be relatively small, pretty elite and attracting students that have maybe a greater sense of comfort with different lifestyles," he said.

But the same might not hold true for the type of students Marquette attracts, according to McMahon.

"While they're highly qualified, are probably more traditional, and I think, on the whole, would object to that kind of lifestyle," he said.

He also said mixed-gender housing would not sit well with Marquette's Catholic identity.

"I don't think it would be consistent with our Catholic, Jesuit heritage or character, and what we do in housing and residence life has to enhance the mission of the university," he said.

At colleges and universities that allow mixed-gender housing, many students who choose the option say it is simply a matter of preference and that their relationships with their roommates are entirely platonic.

Some parents of students at those schools, however, have expressed concern that mixed-gender housing policies may be problematic, and perhaps even immoral.

According Clark University's statement on its policy, few couples chose to live together.

"The fact is that couples, gay or straight, know the difficulties of living together and seldom elect to do so," reads the statement.

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