No Sex Please, We're (Just) Roomies

Can men and women just be friends? A new spate of mixed-gender dorm rooms and platonic mortgage partnerships say yes.

According to a recent story in the Los Angeles Times, the trend of collegiate men and women platonically rooming together is catching on at a handful of institutions across the US. Created as a way to accommodate gay, bisexual, transgender and transsexual students, mixed-gender dorm rooms are currently available at approximately 50 schools nationwide. Romantically involved couples, however, are discouraged from rooming together.

The increase in men and women cohabitating during their collegiate years could be viewed as preparation for their living situation years down the road. August W. Danowski, a commercial real estate attorney based in Lansing, Mich., says the trend is extending to larger real estate transactions as well.