UCLA has its own urban legends: rubbing the Bruin Bear’s
heel will bring you luck, stepping on the sixth step of Janss steps
will add a quarter to your stay at UCLA, an all-girl’s floor
exists somewhere in the residence halls. …
Actually, one of those myths is a reality. The Hill still has an
all-girl’s floor. It is on Hedrick Hall’s fifth floor,
and is the only single-gender floor remaining since 1983, when
theme housing began.
“Guys came up here in the beginning of the year and they
were like, “˜an all-girl’s floor does
exist!’,” said first-year undeclared student Lisa
Harrington.
The women’s floor is one of the nine themes Housing offers
to students. The other themes are academic enhancement, community
service, fitness and well-being, great outdoors, intercultural
experience, opportunities in the arts, social justice, and transfer
students.
Like any themed floor, the women’s floor holds programs
relating to it’s theme. In the past, programs have included
self-defense, careers for women in academia, women’s health,
and presentations from prominent women on campus or in a particular
industry.
However, students currently applying for housing next year may
be unaware of the implications of requesting or choosing to live on
certain theme floors. Different theme floors offer various
opportunities and atmospheres and, in the case of the women’s
floor, a same-sex environment.
Students reapplying for housing as second-years can apply for a
specific room, but incoming freshmen are only able to request a
roommate, a building or a theme floor.
While Housing attempts to comply with student requests,
residents may still find themselves on floors they did not want or
request.
“I was really upset about (being on the women’s
floor) and had hoped that it wasn’t true,” said Leela
Athalye, a first-year microbiology student.
Residents on the floor say the lack of a co-ed environment made
the residence hall life different from what they had
anticipated.
“It’s an incomplete dorm experience, an unbalanced
atmosphere. Other dorms seem more balanced. I think dorms need that
aspect of mixed groups,” said first-year psychobiology
student Sarah Smith.
Visitors to the floor have also noticed the lack of males makes
the atmosphere on the women’s floor different from those on
other floors.
“Their floor’s quieter because there are no guys, no
mixing, no variety. I think it’s unfair because most of the
people here are first-years and want the normal college
experience,” said first-year biochemistry student Marko
Marbella.
Harrington requested the women’s floor.
“The women’s floor was my second choice. I
don’t know why I put it, and now I regret it. I don’t
hate it, but it’s not the same as other dorms. There’s
no variety and it’s anti-social,” she said.
But other residents have not felt the absence of males affects
life in the residence hall.
“It didn’t make that big a difference to me. I
don’t think this floor is different from other floors,”
said first-year business economics student Gloria Chien.
Still, many on the floor agree that the women’s floor has
some perks.
“We have two bathrooms and we can go around looking like
crap. We have a kitchen too, but I think that’s sexist, and
it doesn’t even work,” Smith said.
Male students have also expressed opinions of a kitchen being on
the women’s floor.
“It’s unfair that only the girl’s floor has a
kitchen … Guys cook too,” Marbella said.
Some students say the floor may be ideal for studious women
because of the quiet atmosphere.
“This floor would be OK if you like it to be quiet all the
time. But they should have this floor for the people who actually
wanted it,” said first-year business economics student Roxana
Betancourt.
The Office of Residential Life decides which floor themes to
offer before applications are sent out and they know the actual
number of students who will request such floors. Consequently, ORL
does not know the number of students who request a theme floor
until after they decide to offer it.
“The theme floor was very popular in previous years, and
there may be peaks and dips at different times. We are working to
have theme floors with students interested in that area,”
said Director of ORL Suzanne Seplow.
Interest in the women’s floor has gradually declined and
Housing and ORL have matched the decline by offering fewer
single-gender floors.
“Recently we seem to have reached a plateau where interest
has remained fairly constant; high enough that we maintain one
women’s floor but not so much that one isn’t enough to
accommodate our demand,” said ORL Academic Support
Coordinator Eric Kidder.
If there was a dramatic drop in interest one year for a
women’s floor, ORL would wait another a year or two to ensure
that the drop in interest was not a statistical anomaly, Kidder
said.
“We would be hesitant to discontinue it without clear and
consistent information indicating that students were no longer
interested in having the women’s floor,” Kidder
said
The demand for a men’s floor dropped at a significantly
faster rate than the demand for a woman’s floor. When demand
for a men’s floor dropped to less than 5 students, it was
converted to a co-ed environment, Kidder said.
Though more than 4,500 students showed an interest in theme
housing in their housing applications in 2001-2002, only about 12
percent of the students prioritized it over room type or roommate
preference, Kidder said.
In 2001-2002, the theme floors in highest demand were academic
enhancement, fitness and well-being, intercultural experience, and
opportunities in the arts.
ORL evaluates the effectiveness of the theme floors each year
through staff interactions with students and regular surveys.