Pink and blue, shopping and sports, stilettos and grungy gym shoes … these items usually separate like oil and water, but, in some student apartments, they make the perfect combination.

“It’s way easier to live with guys than to live with girls,” said Jaclyn Taylor, senior in LAS.

For many roommates, however, the decision to go co-ed wasn’t based on gender at all.

“Mary and I wanted to live together senior year,” said Wendy Wise, senior in ACES. “When we were trying to figure out a third or fourth roommate, one of us said jokingly, ‘I wish we could live with Paul. It’d be so much easier.’ And here we are.”

For many groups, the one obstacle they find is receiving approval from their parents.

“(My parents) were definitely hesitant at first, but, after considering the situation and who I would be living with, they were very much in support of this idea,” said Paul Smith, senior in LAS.

Some in co-ed living situations say that parents and others who disagree with the idea do not see how the experience will benefit them in the future.

“Most people are going to end up living with someone of the opposite sex whether in marriage or random roommates in the future,” Taylor said. “(In that sense), it’s unrealistic to be totally against it.”

While students living with those of the opposite sex disagree with those who are completely against it, they do admit that there are definite differences between living with same-sex roommates.

As well as organization, Taylor found herself to be the most organized of her three other roommates. This left her to pay everyone’s bills because the boys were never on top of it. Although she said she did not mind, it would be “a few months later until (she) saw a check from them.”

“I’m not the cleanest person in the world,” Taylor said. “But girl ‘messy’ is way different than boy ‘dirty.’”

And Smith said that he found that a lot of housecleaning was completed by the females.

“Lots of cooking and cleaning just magically gets done when I’m away or doing homework, so that is a huge plus, but they also have much higher expectations for my cleanliness and the cleanliness of our apartment,” he said.

However, girls in the situation say that anything done is by choice and some have experienced that nothing is left to them, despite what some people assume.

“Everyone thinks that when girls are living with guys, they’re going to be the mom cleaning after you, keeping things in order,” said Bridgette Van Tuyle, senior in LAS. “But that’s a big common misconception — it’s just like living with girls.”

Many times, though, the stereotype of girls being cleaner isn’t even true.

“A misconception about living co-ed is that boys are slobs,” Wise said. “Wrong. Girls are. My room should be deemed a disaster zone. I won’t even get started on Mary’s.”

On the other hand, Van Tuyle said living with males has its benefits for females as well.

“I feel like I can tell (my male roommate) if he does something wrong, and he won’t read into what I’m saying,” Van Tuyle said. “He takes it for what it is.”

Taylor would agree that living with males can prove to be more laid-back.

“A lot of the little things that would make girls upset don’t get a rise out of guys at all,” she said.

As far as bathroom sharing goes, most co-ed roommates say that it is never a problem. Even Smith, who was originally worried about sharing one bathroom with two girls, said that it has worked out.

“This was one of my biggest concerns going into the situation,” he said. “We are all aware of this restriction and do our best to limit the amount of time we spend in there, so it has not been a problem at all.”

Overall, Taylor said it helped that the males she lived with were a bit less needy when it came to hogging the bathroom.

“They spend so much less time in the bathroom, so it was much less of an issue,” Taylor said. “I never had to wait for the shower or anything.”

As with any living situation, conflicts do arise.

“I think it’s really good to be able to mesh through these conflicts; it’s a whole learning experience,” said Taylor. “Even in the workplace, you are going to have conflicts; you’re going to have to put behind you.”

In addition, one of the largest misconceptions co-ed roommates said that exist is that romance can interfere with these living situation.

“I’ve been asked a number of times if I was homosexual because I live with two girls,” Smith said.

For most groups, as long as romance is confirmed to be a non-issue from the start, it never becomes a problem.

“Make sure there aren’t any underlying feelings if (you’re) going to be living with a guy,” Taylor said, who experienced the interference of romance during her time living with males. “When you live together, you totally see a different side of that person.”

As far as the age old myth goes of girls not being able to be just friends with guys and vice versa, Smith said he finds it to be false.

“Although it’s easy for people to jump to romantic conclusions for those who are living together, I know it is possible for opposite sexes to be strictly friends,” Smith said.

Nevertheless, at the heart of the issue, gender has nothing to do with making the choice of living with roommates of the opposite sex.

“I took a step back and looked at my options,” Van Tuyle said. “I picked the person who would be best roommate – I didn’t even consider gender.”

Others agreed that gender had little to do with their decision in comparison to other factors.

“Be realistic about certain patterns,” said Mary McFadden, senior in LAS. “A high maintenance girl with a messy boy wouldn’t really work. You really just need to evaluate your relationships and think if you could live with someone.”

Taylor, Van Tuyle, Wise, McFadden and Smith all said they would definitely live with the opposite sex again.

“I like being ‘Three’s Company,’” Wise said. “When we are together, we have a good time and we know how to deal with each other. There will always be highs and lows, but this set up gives me the best balance so far.”