Tension is rising at Trinity College as the clock ticks toward the end of a consultation period on a co-ed dorm.
While the idea of men and women dwelling together constitutes everyday existence for students at University and Victoria Colleges, the Christian colleges at U of T are breaking new ground when they test out co-ed residence.
“There’s been more community and a greater sense of responsibility,” said Mark Freeman, a male living at St. Hilda’s as part of an experimental pilot project.
“I’ve had no negative experiences.”
“No one’s complained at all…everyone has either benefited or stayed the same,” said Salimah Ebrahim, a third-year student living at St. Hilda’s, who helped to initiate the project.
A report on the trial will be issued by the Community Affairs Committee on March 11.
But students like Mark Karpinski, Trinity resident in fourth year, are skeptical. While he is not against co-ed residences in principle, Karpinski believes it is not appropriate for St. Hilda’s at this time. Before any fundamental changes are made, he supports further debate to ensure that any outcome will fully represent the needs of Trinity College.
After five years of stalemate, Trinity, the male residence, became partially co-ed in 1997. Today, due to an influx of female students into the university, approximately 30 women are situated there. In the spring of 2001, a similar idea was proposed for St. Hilda’s.
This has led to a controversial pilot project in which eight young men have become residents at St. Hilda’s for a trial year.
Many, like Dean of Women Elizabeth Abbott and Ebrahim, want St. Hilda’s, one of the most traditional colleges at U of T, to remain predominantly female.
Although Dean of Men Bruce Bowden agrees with Dean Abbott and Ebrahim, he also recognizes that only two colleges at U of T (St. Michael’s and Trinity) officially have segregated residences.
“Trinity is representing a tradition that is somewhat of a minority,” he said.
Indeed, such deep-rooted traditions at Trinity have not always been looked upon favourably within and outside the college.
Dean Abbott said the opponents of co-ed residency at Trinity “don’t want things to change here because they want to foster a male community that permits certain activities that would otherwise be seen for what they are—vulgar and inappropriate.”
She cited examples such as Episkopon (a secret society at Trinity) and vandalism. Dean Abbott also says the women’s residence, for its own part, experiences “cattiness and cliqueness.”
One of the concerns over co-ed residence involved the safety of the women, especially in terms of sexual assault.
But despite opposition within the college, the project has seen smooth sailing since the beginning of the academic year, according to Ebrahim and Freeman.
Regardless of success or failure, some are saying the project was undemocratically implemented.
“I think the idea was pushed through the system informally by a group of friends who wanted to live together,” said Karpinski.
He said there have also been allegations that Dean Abbott influenced the speedy approval of the pilot project by the St. Hilda’s College Meeting (SHCM).
When questioned about this possible intervention, the dean responded, “Bullshit.”
Ebrahim denies the idea that this was a product of students wanting to live with their friends.
“My GPA probably dropped a few points [working on the project]. I love my friend Ed [a male living at St. Hilda’s], but I would not go to those lengths for him.”
Debates over co-ed residence seem to act as a preamble to a proposed new residence across from St. Hilda’s, which Dean Bowden believes will almost certainly be co-ed.
