# Dorm Policies: An equal protection violation against heterosexuals? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 8, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539 "2012-06-08T19:33:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539/21 "2012-06-09T10:28:29Z")
I still can’t get over the people that think this is unusual. This is the sort of thing I’ve seen at every college I’ve been to. And I think your chances of calling it sexual discrimination are about the same as saying the same thing for male and female bathrooms. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539/22 "2012-06-09T11:01:36Z")
Good luck, but there isn’t a chance in hell you’ll get a good outcome. The best you could hope for is a total ban on all overnight guests. Most colleges have made it clear that they view all males as potential rapists. The policy is for security, not to prevent the sexy time. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539/23 "2012-06-09T11:15:21Z")
> [@Eureka](#): > > I agree. It’s been close to twenty years since someone complained about cross-visitation privileges at my college–not a formal complaint, just an “it’s not fair” when they explained the new keyless lock system, and the response was “Look–count your blessings that you have cross-visitation privileges at all–students at our school’s biggest rival don’t and won’t because a female student was raped and murdered in her dorm room once.” Well, she’d have had to be really unlucky to be raped and murdered in her dorm room more than once. ---
**Author:** ![AqualungBats5th](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@AqualungBats5th](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AqualungBats5th)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539/24 "2012-06-09T14:50:27Z")
Well, if the policy existed in order to give same sex couples a bye and keep opposite sex ones apart, maybe. But it’s as equally unfair to Jane that wants her friend Jim to stay over as it is if it’s her boyfriend Joe. And let’s be honest here, the policy exists because the assumption is that the same sex guest is not there for sex. If gay couples were as ubiquitous as straight ones, then dorms with this sort of prudish policy would probably ban all overnight guests. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539/25 "2012-06-09T15:08:05Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I still can’t get over the people that think this is unusual. This is the sort of thing I’ve seen at every college I’ve been to. But what decade? I lived in an all-girls dorm in the late 90s and we had **no** rules against overnight guests of either gender. The only rule at all was that you had to be considerate of your roommate and if they complained about your guests of either gender overstaying their welcome, you had to make other arrangements for that guest or the HD would help you make the arrangements. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539/26 "2012-06-09T17:34:08Z")
> [@Death\_of\_Rats](#): > > The best result you would get from challenging this is that there would be NO overnight guests. That’s pretty much how it worked at my school back in the day–either no one visiting, or everyone anytime. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539/27 "2012-06-10T11:30:11Z")
> [@AqualungBats5th](#): > > And let’s be honest here, the policy exists because the assumption is that the same sex guest is not there for sex. If gay couples were as ubiquitous as straight ones, then dorms with this sort of prudish policy would probably ban all overnight guests. I doubt it. The policy is probably there not to prevent Jane from getting to see Jane’s boyfriend, but to prevent Mary from having to deal with Jane’s boyfriend. Presumably people in same-sex dorms are a bit more relaxed about social stuff (y’know, naked pillow fights, all that), and introducing someone of the opposite sex to their living quarters without giving them veto power over that could make them uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539/28 "2012-06-10T14:06:15Z")
I would be surprised if a court would be interested in this. Dorms are usually subject to a whole bunch of regulations that are different than regular housing, like apartments and hotels. Colleges have a lot of latitude about what their housing policies are, although MAYBE in the case of a state school, there might be a few more compliance points. As an example, " family status" is generally a protected class, but most colleges would not let you move into a dorm with a baby. In general though, as an internal policy trend as opposed to a legal one, the pendulum is swinging toward gender neutral policies (with the possible exception of religious institutions). You would probably have better luck changing the policy by sparking a student uprising. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539/29 "2012-06-10T14:34:50Z")
How about gender-neutral housing combined with a ‘no overnight guest’ rule? At any rate, gender-neutral housing is on the rise. The purpose is largely too protect the security of non-conforming people of xyz gender in dorms. It’s not for hanky panky. 🙂 See: [U Michigan](http://www.housing.umich.edu/gender-neutral) as an example. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539/30 "2012-06-11T00:57:44Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > I would be surprised if a court would be interested in this. Dorms are usually subject to a whole bunch of regulations that are different than regular housing, like apartments and hotels. Colleges have a lot of latitude about what their housing policies are, although MAYBE in the case of a state school, there might be a few more compliance points. As an example, " family status" is generally a protected class, but most colleges would not let you move into a dorm with a baby. Many colleges now have “married student housing”, which is designed for couples, possibly with children. They are often built more like row houses or duplexes than typical dorm housing. Especially common for older students, in grad school. (Usually much less party-oriented than dorms. Not actually quieter, though, given the number of babies.) Of course, nowadays, colleges are changing the name from “married student housing”, since many of the couples are not actually married. Or even heterosexual. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539/31 "2012-06-11T01:11:20Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > My niece is starting college in the fall and living in the dorms. The policy in the dorms is no overnight guests on weeknights. However, on weekends, same sex visitors are permitted to stay overnight. Opposite sex visitors must leave by midnight. > > Could a heterosexual make an argument that such a policy allows homosexual couples to cohabitate on weekends, but heterosexuals get no such benefit? I wonder if my theory would hold up in court? If you’d like to make an argument that the policy violates the Equal Protection Clause, then I’ll respond to it. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539/32 "2012-06-11T02:03:01Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Many colleges now have “married student housing”, which is designed for couples, possibly with children. They are often built more like row houses or duplexes than typical dorm housing. Especially common for older students, in grad school. (Usually much less party-oriented than dorms. Not actually quieter, though, given the number of babies.) > > Of course, nowadays, colleges are changing the name from “married student housing”, since many of the couples are not actually married. Or even heterosexual. Oh sure, all the ones I know of are more like apartment-style student housing than typical “college dorms.” In a typical freshman hall, the kind where you show up and meet your three roommates for the first time and then go have a pizza party in the lounge, the vast majority of colleges are not going to let someone move in with a baby. I’m sure there are some exceptions out there, especially colleges heavily geared toward returning students or non-traditional students, but I was using it as an example of how dorm policies do not necessarily follow the standards for rental housing on the market at large, and they are not legally compelled to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Arabella\_Flynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@Arabella\_Flynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arabella_Flynn)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539/33 "2012-06-12T17:09:46Z")
I’m pretty sure my university had a policy vaguely like this. “Pretty sure” and not “totally sure” because it was never enforced _per se_. It existed so that they could do something if and only if someone (usually your roommate, but if you were especially loud and obnoxious, sometimes your neighbor) complained. They hired other students to watch over/police the dorms at my school. To the best of my knowledge, their main goals were to make sure nobody got hurt and to avoid doing paperwork at all costs, at roughly equal priority. The object was not to teach you how to follow rules; you learned that in kindergarten. The object was to teach you which rules it was generally okay to break if you were considerate of the people around you. Setting the kitchen on fire = not okay. Smuggling beer back to the room and drinking it quietly while watching movies = just don’t let anyone catch you. Overnight guests, for hanky panky or otherwise, fell into the latter category. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539/34 "2012-06-12T19:50:59Z")
Besides the security and the privacy issues, bathrooms can also be a reason for no overnight rules. What do you do with an out of town boyfriend, in a women’s dorm, when there is no men’s bathroom? From experience, I know it can be ackward to discover a pair of men’s feet in the adjoining shower stall. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539/35 "2012-06-12T20:02:40Z")
> [@](#): > > Of course, nowadays, colleges are changing the name from “married student housing”, since many of the couples are not actually married. Or even heterosexual. Here, the official name is “Family and Graduate Housing”, and they have a pretty expansive definition of “family” (basically, if you’re close enough to want to live together, they don’t care about the paperwork). And the building I’m in isn’t “family” at all, since they’re all single-occupancy apartments. ---
**Author:** ![mister\_nyx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@mister\_nyx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mister_nyx)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539/36 "2012-06-12T20:05:39Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Of course it’s discriminatory. Remember, in our society it’s perfectly fine to discriminate against anyone who is white, male, or straight. These groups are simply not allowed to complain or retaliate. “Not allowed to complain”? If only. If white straight men would stop complaining about their horrible lot just for a day it’d make the world a better place. ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539/37 "2012-06-12T20:10:11Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Some people feel more comfortable in gender-segregated quarters, and that’s their prerogative. Yeah - religious reasons tend to be a large one. Young Muslim and Orthodox Jewish men and women have rules about opposite-sex contact, to give a couple of examples. My college let you take your pick between gender-integrated and -segregated housing, and I asked to be on a single-sex floor largely for privacy reasons. And also hygiene - for stupid reasons, young men aren’t held to the same standards of hygiene as young women in America so their bathrooms tend to smell terrible. The situation described in the OP though sounds ridiculous. College students are adults, not kids who need camp counselors. Even on my single-sex floor, we were allowed overnight visitors of either sex, and only had to get permission if the visitor was staying more than 2 nights in a row. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539/38 "2012-06-12T20:12:18Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I’ve never heard of a college having that kind of policy on overnight guests, whether same or opposite sex. Is your niece going a very conservative/religious school? (In which case the possibility of homosexual cohabitation may not even be acknowledged…) When I was in college in the late '80s and early '90s, our non-religious, non-conservative state school had fairly restrictive “visitation” policies for the dorms. I was actually surprised at the time that such rules still existed. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539/39 "2012-06-12T20:39:45Z")
Is it a state schoo? If not, the equal protection clause doesn’t enter into it. Regarding the wisdom of the rule, colleges have a huge variety of policies. Students should pick an institution that has rules they can live with (or try to get them changed if they wish). My girlfriend and I were allowed to choose each other as roommates in my dorm days. ---
**Author:** ![dba\_Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c37758/32.png) [@dba\_Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dba_Fred)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539/40 "2012-06-12T21:28:48Z")
> [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](#): > > Besides the security and the privacy issues, bathrooms can also be a reason for no overnight rules. What do you do with an out of town boyfriend, in a women’s dorm, when there is no men’s bathroom? From experience, I know it can be ackward to discover a pair of men’s feet in the adjoining shower stall. Indeed :eek: Where did you discover the rest of the body? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dorm-policies-an-equal-protection-violation-against-heterosexuals/624539.md?page=3)