I support opening Holland Hall up to men
Holland Hall or Holland Hell?
By the fall of the 2017-2018, Holland Hall will become a co-ed housing option for incoming freshmen. Known for housing roughly 600 women, Holland Hall is, or was, Pitt’s only single-sex housing option for incoming students. Amos Hall houses sororities, therefore excluding first-year students from its residence.
About a year and a half ago I checked my housing assignment for my freshman year and saw that I would be living in Holland. I had never heard of the dorm, as I was eagerly expecting to be placed in Nordenberg or even Towers. My heart immediately sunk upon seeing the Google Search results and realizing Holland was an all-female dormitory.
Call it a self-fulfilling prophecy, but I was rather apprehensive of living with only women, in fear that it would be difficult to make and maintain friendships with only women around. Sure enough, the sea of estrogen was exactly as I expected: drama, drama, and oh, more drama.
It’s no secret women act differently with men around. Having that many women together is a recipe for disaster. Tensions run high, and the catty cliques supposedly left in high school soon begin to form again.
Living in an all women’s dorm can be awkward or uncomfortable for several reasons. For women who have difficulties relating to other women, it can feel impossible to make friends while living in Holland. If a woman is to bring a man back to the dorm for whatever reason, everyone immediately knows, as male voices sound so out of place in the building.
Introducing men into the all-women living space will have a multitude of advantages: the overall vibe of the building will be much more relaxed and so much less high-strung, students will be given more opportunities to forge friendships as a wider range of people will be in the building, and male students will be granted more housing equality.
Until Holland’s change takes place in the fall of 2017, male first-year students are only able to live in Towers, Sutherland, Forbes, Nordenberg, and Bruce Halls. First-year men have one less lower-campus housing option than first-year women, and that simply isn’t fair. Opening Holland up to both men and women will provide equal opportunities to students of both genders.
#H2PEquality