Missionary age affects freshman housing gender ratios

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One year after President Thomas S. Monson announced the age change for LDS missionaries, the dynamics of freshmen housing have drastically changed.

Historically, ratios of male to female students have been farily close; since 2004, the number of female to male freshman have been within 800 of one other. The 2012 incoming freshman class had a fairly even ratio, with 3,124 males to 3,771 females.

This year, however, there are a total of 5,207 freshman enrolled this year: 3,234 being female and 1,973 being male, according to University Communications.

The ratio of girls to guys in the freshman dorms is nearly 3:1. Photo by Sarah Hill

According to Julie Franklin, director for residence life, the number of male and female students living on campus are similar to what they have been for the past few years. The only change is that there are more upperclassmen males living in on-campus housing now, and fewer freshman males.

Though there are more upperclassmen males living in on-campus housing, freshman girls still find the lack of freshman boys very apparent.

“Girls are super desperate,” said Dominque Temple, a freshman from Menife, Calif. “That’s a really annoying trend going on. I think I’d be able to deal with it better if girls weren’t like that (desperate); it’s just one of the downsides.”

Freshman boys, on the other hand, have the opposite viewpoint.

“It’s honestly so nice,” said Aaron Johnson, a freshman from Flowermound, Texas. “It makes me feel more confident because there are more girls to ask on dates.”

Ward dynamics have also changed for freshmen. In years past, having a ratio of one boy to every two girls was rare, but now it’s the norm.

“Our ward is the closest to a normal ratio, one boy to every two girls I think,” Johnson said. “It’s way better than most wards in our stake. Most of them are one boy to every four girls.”

According to Temple, who lives in Heritage Halls, personalities can cloud the significant difference between boys and girls.

Freshman men are generally happy about the ratio, while women would appreciate more men. Photo by Sarah Hill

“Well we have a lot of outgoing guys in our ward, so that doesn’t make the ratio as apparent, because the guys are everywhere,” Temple said. “Still, we only have one Elders Quorum and then three Relief Societies.”

Further, female students are concerned with the amount of freshman boys planning on leaving on missions at the end of fall semester.

“A lot of guys in my ward are planning on leaving,” Johnson said. “It’s already disproportionate right now, but when winter comes, it’s going to be a lot more noticeable.”

Temple agreed. “It’s going to get worse because guys are leaving. Well, better for guys, worse for girls.”

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