Like many women living off Grounds at the University, Jessica Karr has a feminine bathroom. A floral shower curtain and matching bath mat decorate the bathtub and floor, perhaps making it easy for the third-year Commerce student to forget she shares this bathroom with her male roommate, Seth Rogers, a fourth-year College student. But when Karr glances beyond her puffy loofah and shampoo bottles and around at the tile walls, she is reminded that she also shares her bathroom with Rogers' pictures of bronze, bikini-clad Maxim models.
While some may shudder at the thought of sharing their medicine cabinets with a member of the opposite sex, Karr and Rogers inhabit one of many thriving co-ed houses and apartments at the University.
After sharing their apartment with another male and two female roommates last year, Karr and Rogers decided to renew their lease for this season, this time paring down their fivesome to a foursome, leaving Karr as the only woman residing with three men. Aside from the occasional "Three Men and a Little Lady" joke, the most common question Karr receives remains, "Are you crazy?"
For Karr, the answer is a resounding "no." In light of the curiosity and surprise her peers express, Karr explains that living with male roommates creates an open, comfortable atmosphere that matches her ideal lifestyle.
"I was raised to be a very straight-up person and the guys I live with are much the same," Karr said."We are very forthright with each other, which was a more difficult feat when I lived with girls."
Although Karr consciously opted to live with members of the opposite sex, many co-ed living arrangements at the University result from chaotic housing arrangements. Inevitably, conflicted roommates break leases and study abroad plans dissolve, and when lease-holders striving to fill the empty bedroom meet apartment-hunters eager to pay for a place to call home, the issue of gender fades from significance.
When second-year College student Sarah Tuke and her five roommates discovered the perfect seven-bedroom house, they posted "roommate needed" flyers on corkboards from Cabell to Gilmer. The first to respond was Ryan Smith, an Engineering graduate student who won the girls over with a glowing reference from an elderly family friend.
"We deliberated a good deal about sharing our house with a guy," Tuke said. "But Ryan has turned out to be like the big brother of the house."
In addition to upholding the brotherly duty of teasing his female roommates about male guests, Smith has proved a skilled bug-squasher and computer repairman, reminding Tuke and her roommates of the unforeseen benefits of co-ed living.
When fourth-year College student Audra Little signed on to live in a nine-person co-ed house on Brandon Avenue, she too received an unexpected signing bonus.Little grew close with housemate Jarrod Markley, who graduated from the College in 2001, and the two were engaged within three months.
"Not enough people give co-ed living a thought," Little said."There is a lot to be learned and a lot to be shared, especially in my case."
But finding love in the one you split the phone bill with is precisely why some parents object to co-ed housing. Second-year College student Katina Pappas is currently struggling with her parents' anxiety about the male roommate that joined her and three girlfriends after the original fourth moved out.
"My parents think he's bound to see me naked, although I assure them he will not," Pappas said."I haven't told them just yet that he's actually moved in."
Although the situation ended in bliss for Little, she too recalls her parents' raising eyebrows about their daughter's plans to reside in a house with two guys and seven girls.
"They were concerned because it was my first co-ed living experience," she said. "Like most parents, they didn't have a clue what to expect."
Such family concerns parallels the shock from many members of the University community who cannot help but think that meshing Mars and Venus under one roof can only end in disaster. For those who have never dwelled in a co-ed residence, the commonly held stereotypes of the sexes manifest images of crusty beer cans and eternal episodes of ESPN's Sportcenter clashing violently with fashion magazines and "girl talk."
Jami English, a third-year College student sharing a two-bedroom apartment with fourth-year College student Colin Allen, said living with a male does warrant some lifestyle changes.
"I am undoubtedly more aware of my actions in my apartment than when I lived with all girls," English said."I certainly don't leave my bras laying out on the sofa anymore."
After living with a male friend and three girls last year, Allen argues that living with a female is not as daunting as it seems.
"Sure, I'd like to walk around in my underwear every now and then," Allen said. "But in reality, living with a girl is not as different as people assume."
English says that neither she nor Allen are tidy, so cleanliness does not pose a problem for the pair.
Overall, English remains impressed with Allen's level of maturity and consideration since moving in with him two months ago, adding, "He hasn't left the toilet seat up once."
If English sounds like a wife talking about her husband, she is not the only one. Oddly enough, many University students living in co-ed homes find themselves adhering to traditional gender patterns.
English, Karr and Tuke all tend to do the dishes, while Allen, Rogers and Smith usually mind the trash.
Louise Hooff, a fourth-year Nursing student who lives with four football players, admits that she sometimes picks up the slack and tidies up, but confesses that she may have surprised her four roommates.
"I think they thought I was going to cook or clean for them occasionally," Hooff said."But I definetly don't."
In fact, Hooff, the only woman among four men, and Karr, the sole female living with three males, both say they never feel overpowered by their male counterparts.
"If anyone is winning in a battle of the sexes, it's me," Karr said.
Hooff's roommate, third-year College student and starting quarterback Matt Schaub says that while he and his fellow male roommates like to tease Hooff about her boyfriend, ultimately, they respect her space.
"We like to give her a hard time every now and then," Schaub said. "But we try to keep the place up to Louise's standard of living."
If it seems mixed-gender households are too harmonious to be true, it may be because many of the roommates have lived with the opposite sex in the past.After being placed accidentally in a female hall during his first year at George Mason, Rogers has lived with girls for three of his four years in college.
"I was pretty horrified at first," he said. "But the girls became like sisters to me and my roommate."
After two years of co-ed living, Karr feels that Mars and Venus are not as far apart as they seem.
Karr and Rogers both say the mixed-gender households Karr experienced over the last two years have been relaxed and familial. Furthermore, Karr says, it beats the bickering that sometimes arises with single-sex situations.
"Many of my girlfriends come here when they need an out from living with a ton of other girls," she said. "I think they need that out a little more than I do."
With Rogers moving out after graduation in May, Karr and her remaining roommates will begin searching for a replacement next semester.
Without being prompted for an answer, Karr says confidently, "It will be a guy."
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