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Video | Tufts' Dorm Sex Rules: One Week Later

Published: Thursday, October 1, 2009

Updated: Friday, October 2, 2009 13:10

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4 comments Log in to Comment

Sick of Reslife Paternalism
Sun Oct 4 2009 22:11
Frankly, if you don't have the fortitude to tell your roommate not to have sex in your presence, you deserve to be made uncomfortable.

You're an adult. You should be able to handle this.

PS
Sun Oct 4 2009 10:58
Thoughtful Jumbo, you're spot on. The Daily has decided, apparently, to completely ignore the much more restrictive rule about guest registration. Banning sex while a roommate is present isn't so crazy, though probably unnecessary, but doesn't the guest registration rule ban spontaneous one night stands.
Thoughtful Jumbo
Sat Oct 3 2009 21:24
Thank god I live off campus. That being said, it seems like ResLife was very clever in dropping this bomb about a week (i think) after the far more "ridiculous" decision to require on-campus residents to register guests three days in advance. Just because the national media thinks the word "sex" is as intriguing as it would be to a 5th grader does not mean we should get distracted as well. I'd like to think my fellow students are better than that. Instead, you sorry on-campus residents should focus on that inane guest registration rule and the general conceit for the TCU senate and the student body at large that ResLife seems to possess. Don't just follow the hype of the "sex" story.
Bush Hall Alum
Fri Oct 2 2009 14:04
I'm not so sure this rule is as ridiculous as it sounds...

While the students in this video may believe that they themselves are responsible and "adult" enough to be respectful of their roommates without University intervention, it goes without saying that a lot of other students are not.

With the randomness of freshmen roommate pairing, and the increasing diversity of the Tufts population, chances seem pretty likely of having incompatible roommates that may not communicate with each other very well. When this happens, I could see how the "3rd wheel" student might need such a rule to empower them to speak up.

When I was a freshman in 1992-93, my girlfriend and I had sex in my room with my roommate present all the time. In retrospect, I feel bad having put my roommate in that position. He wasn't the most open communicator, and I don't think he felt comfortable talking to me about it (that's just my assumption, since he never did). In fact, I seem to remember one time when he walked in on us, and then proceeded to avoid me for nearly a week. If he had this rule on the books at the time, maybe he would've felt more comfortable talking to me about it and putting me in my place.

While I was the irresponsible one in this case, I can't imagine that my experience was unique. I was 18 and getting laid regularly for the first time in my life. How many current students are in the same situation? Do you really think that all of them are always going to be responsible and respectful of their roommates? Probably not.

I'm not saying that this rule needs to be proactively enforced, but I do think that it's not bad to have it on the books, just in case it's needed by someone who's roommate is being too young and foolish (like me) to be respectful.

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