Housing and Dining to make Zeke Co-ed Dorm
by Alyson Dame

Zeke men should start practicing putting the seat down. A proposal passed Thursday by the Housing and Dining committee will make Zechiel Hall, Oberlin’s only all male residence hall, co-ed beginning next fall.
For a long time, Zeke has been filled largely with students who did not request to live there. Similar proposals have been made in past but the committee has opted instead to try to improve Zeke. Renovations and live-in coaches have not made the hall any more popular with students applying for new housing. Zeke is intended to be upper-class housing, but many first-year athletes, often prompted by their coaches, request to live in Zeke.
Assistant Director of Residential Life Sandra Hougland wrote the proposal after seeing continued low levels of interest in living in Zeke. “I wanted people to address the issue. I certainly could live with whatever decision the committee makes, I think that’s how it should be decided,” she said before Thursday’s meeting. “We’re pleasing about 12 students in Zeke, and that is out of 43,” Hougland said.
The vote was passed with very little discussion on Thursday. Junior Phillip Grasso was the only Zeke resident present. He was concerned that the unique community in Zeke was being overlooked, and that Zeke residents had not been involved enough in the conversation. 
Hougland mentioned that the meeting was publicized and that area coordinators had known about the proposal. “We cannot be knocking on every door publicizing the meeting,” Hougland said.
Junior and Zeke resident coordinator Richard Pierce went to the first meeting where the proposal was discussed. “I made a speech and I feel like I was pretty much ignored,” Pierce said. He had gathered about 30 signatures from Zeke residents who wanted to live there next year, but missed the meeting because he did not know about it. “I was not invited, no one I know was invited. I’d like to think that my petition and another speech would have made a difference, but in reality it probably wouldn’t have made a difference,” Pierce said.
The vote passed six to one, with three abstaining. Assistant to Director of Residential Life Ehrai Adams was the only one who voted against the proposal. “I voted no because I heard some powerful arguments for the maintenance of an all-male residence hall and I support that philosophically,” Adams said, adding, “I do not have any concerns with the vote to have Zeke co-ed but I just wanted to support an expressed need on this campus despite whatever problems there might be with it being all male.”
First-year Zeke resident Ryan Silakoski was one of the many Zeke residents upset by the news. “Personally, I think its wrong for them to do that if there’s still going to be an all women’s dorm. I think the reason they are doing that is because they want to lower the level of partying and that really doesn’t happen as much as they’d like to think.” Solakoski also said that coaches closely monitor partying by residents who are athletes.