Home Forums CEDA Forums General Forum Co-ed / Mixed Rooming Arrangements

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  • #1825
    nrothenb
    Participant

      Gender imbalances in partnerships, and preference for specific tournaments sometimes create situations where a single debater of one gender rooms alone which is not cost effective from a budget standpoint. Over the course of a season for a large squad these costs can add up. What are folks thoughts about mixed-gender rooming in 2024?

      I wanted to get a sense from other peoples / directors about these and/or best practices.

      Would you consider implementing mixed gender rooming for your squad? If not as a general rule, under what situations would you? Similarly how do you manage rooming arrangements in situations of diverse gender expression?

      #1826
      [email protected]
      Participant

        We (Emory) have done mixed-gender rooming, though usually with only 2 debaters of different genders. For those with diverse gender expressions, we usually solicit and accommodate rooming preferences.

        #1827
        j.alexander.mcvey
        Participant

          I like to include this conversation in my beginning of the year check in with students, the same convo where we talk about partnerships for the year, class schedules, what administrative support I can provide for students etc… My line on this goes something like: “When we travel we may have to have you room with anywhere from 1-3 other debaters, depending on the hotel situation at any given tournament. Are there any debaters on the squad that you would or would not feel comfortable rooming with? Please let me know if you have preferences or restrictions based on gender for your roommate – we can do mixed gender rooming if you are comfortable with it but we can also avoid it if you prefer. Your answer on this does not have to stay the same throughout the year – please keep me updated if your answer to this question changes at any point in the year.”

          #1829
          jstidham
          Participant

            I know sometimes there are rules from above our pay grade that prevent coed rooming — so if you haven’t already, I’d just make sure yall are allowed to implement it.

            I definitely think coed rooming makes sense in a lot of situations. Retweet what McVey said, ask students how they feel about it. Speaking from personal experience, Derek and I always wished we could have roomed together at tournaments because we were debate partners, bffs, and roommates in real life. We weren’t allowed to due to university rules that govern these things.

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