Student Response
While popular media, such as LIFE magazine, included quotes taken from students regarding coed housing, solely relying upon journalistic representations can result in a skewed view of student opinion. In reality, while more students were generally in favor of coed housing options, there was an extraordinarily wide range of opinions and levels of disgruntlement in regard to administrative response to the coed movement.
In a 1969 letter to President Nason, freshman Catherine Jane Garske shares her wish for Carleton dorms to remain gender segregated. While Jane Stone of the 1949 edition of LIFE magazine argued that schools ought to integrate since the world outside of college is a coed one, Garske uses that reality as the basis for her argument against coed housing. Garske says that through living with other women, she has “come to better understand” herself and deeply values “this last experience of living in a family of girls only.” Garske’s argument is a sentimental one, as she advocates for the sisterhood of women’s dorms, seemingly unconcerned with student sexuality or romance in regard to housing situations.
Written during roughly the same time period, but vastly different in student voice, is this letter to the editor titled “Nason and Co. Produce Bellyache,” published in the Carletonian. In the letter, Carleton student J. R. Long bashes the Victorian morality of President Nason (and co.), making the bold argument that sex is “good” and will occur whether or not Nason condones it, but has the potential to be a “clean” and “decent” under coed housing. Long views Nason’s reasoning for not supporting coed housing as rooted purely in concerns about student sexual activity, and is deeply critical of this, rejecting the assertion that “if we were nice people we wouldn’t want to do it [have sex]” and saying that “people are going to do it anyway – even nice people.” Long also challenges the belief that segregated dorms reduce sexual contact with the flippant remark that anyone can sneak up to the Cities overnight if they have 20 bucks. Ultimately, Long concludes his letter by rejecting administrative oversight of student relationships and sexuality, saying, “A person’s sex life is pure and simple none of your damn business. So why don’t you just leave people the hell alone.”
