As co-eds all across the country pack up their belongings, bid farewell to their parents, and head off to college this week, many will be moving into "themed housing." Themed housing is where students with common interests or values gather under one roof. At both public and private colleges, available "themes" for living quarters are virtually boundless. Some focus on culture, others on music or the arts. Dormitories are set aside for interests in cooking, outdoors, gaming, exercise, and fantasy literature. A few colleges offer housing for those with select views about the environment. UC Santa Cruz offers a large variety of themes, including a diversity awareness house, a social justice house, a Rosa Parks African American house, as well as a house for those who identify themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, intersex, queer, questioning, or allies. Troy University in Alabama likewise extends a number of themed dormitories. It has a couple of houses dedicated to...(Read Full Post)