This year, Tufts University in Massachusetts created a new rule prohibiting sexual activity in the residence halls while a roommate is present.
The new Tufts rule is found in the Tufts University document “Habitats: Guide to On-Campus Living.”
“You may not engage in sexual activity while your roommate is present in the room,” the guide states. “Any sexual activity within your assigned room should not ever deprive your roommate(s) of privacy, study or sleep time.”
While roommates can still “sexile” each other, the roommate being sexiled can refuse to leave the room. This now forces the other roommate to find another place for sex.
“I like that rule; I would not want to be in the room while my roommate is having sex,” said Hannah Smith, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, who has not been sexiled. “But I would just leave; I don’t think it needs to be a rule.”
Rick Treter, director of Residence Life at AU, does not support implementing similar regulations on campus. Treter said he is shocked by the rule.
“It is not customary that we move into the realm of an individual’s personal choices, for institutions that are similar to American University, in regards to their sexuality or their sexual behavior,” he said.
Amelia McDuffy, a junior in the Kogod School of Business who has been sexiled, said she agrees with the rule.
“I think it’s appropriate,” she said. “I mean, I don’t mind you wanting to do what you want to do, but I don’t want to be present to see it.”
She would be okay with AU instituting a similar rule, McDuffy said.
However, Treter does not think such restrictions would be feasible at AU.
This is the first academic year Tufts has instituted this rule. Tufts officials have probably been working on the rule for some time, Treter said.
At AU, there are many layers a new regulation has to pass through before it can become official, Treter said. It can take more than a full academic year to get through those layers.
If a student complains of frequently being sexiled by a roommate, Housing and Dining cannot move the student to a new room.
There is not enough space on campus, Treter said, so there are no rooms available for students to move into because of sexiling.
“We believe that an issue of sexiling can be mediated,” he said. “We believe that a conversation between a student and their roommate, and a respect for the individual and for the space can be obtained.”
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