University of Virginia Library

Housing Committee Proposes
Full Co-education Of Dorms

By TIM WHEELER

Wahoo-Wah

Photo By Lovelace Cook

Citing the policy of unrestricted
admission of women for next year, the
Housing Committee Monday afternoon
passed by a sizable majority proposal
recommending to President Shannon that
the scope of co-education of University
housing be widened to include the
McCormick Road dormitories.

The proposal also recommended that
co-education be instituted for the
1972-73 session in graduate and upperclass
undergraduate housing. All these
recommendations are to be drawn up in a
formal report of the committee's actions by
Annette Gibbs, Associate Dean of Students and
chairman of the Housing Committee.

Specifically, the committee's
recommendations dealt with the issue of
co-educating four housing areas: the
McCormick Road, Alderman Road, Monroe
Hill, and the Mary Munford-Roberta Gwathmey
dormitory areas.

The McCormick Road dormitories would be
co-educated by floors if the committee's
proposals are accepted, with the third floor
reserved for first-year female occupancy and
the bottom two floors for first-year male
students.

The committee recognized several problems
to be considered before co-education of the
McCormick Road dormitories would be
possible. According to Morgan Kelly, president
of Residential Council and a student member of
the committee, the committee recommended
installation of more secure doors for third
floors, with "panic-bar" door locks, and better
lighting in the dormitory area.

Another problem was the need for
improvement of third-floor bathroom facilities.
It would be necessary to repair the present
leakages in the bathroom facilities and to
construct individual shower stalls.

Bob Reeger, chairman of the Graduate
Council, said that the estimated cost for making
these repairs, given by Richard F. Shutts,
Business Manager for the University, would be
somewhere in the $10 to $20,000 range. Mr.
Morgan stated that the committee felt this was
a "justified expense for co-education."

In the Alderman Road area, the committee
recommended that the three upperclass houses
be co-educated by dormitory. They envisioned
one female and two male dormitories. One
first-year dormitory would be reserved,
however, for any women that voice a
preference for all-female housing, as Webb
House was this year.

The Monroe Hill graduate and upperclass
housing would also be co-educated by
dormitory, rather than by floor, with three
female houses and two male houses. Monroe
Hill only houses men at this time.

Mary Munford and Roberta Gwathmey,

presently housing graduate and upperclass
women, raised difficulties in the committee's
plan for co-education, according to Mr. Reeger.
Though it was "not a formal resolution, merely
a recommendation," Mr. Reeger said the
committee requested President Shannon to
co-educate the two dormitories as soon as
possible.

"We were advised that President Shannon
said six months ago that the area had to remain
all-female," Mr. Reeger explained.