On occasion in the past, Dan Moilanen, Fenton junior, found himself barred from entering his own room. 

Moilanen said he would return to his room after lunch or a quick trip down the hall to visit a friend, only to find the door locked with his old roommate pursuing carnal knowledge inside – a condition commonly known as “sexiling.” Though Moilanen said he expressed his frustration, he was still frequently forced to cope without access to his personal property and without any advance notice.

 “It seemed that whenever I would leave, even for a little while, I would come back to find our signal – a blue dry-erase board – hanging on the doorknob,” said Moilanen. “They [my roommate and his girlfriend] were like rabbits.” 

Sexiling seems to be a problem that many Albion students are faced with, and each deals with it in his or her own way. Some find other places to sleep, and others simply amuse themselves until they are allowed back into their rooms.

 ”My old roommate was considerate enough to ask me to leave for a while,” said David Goodrich, Livonia junior. “I’d come back in a few hours, and everything would be cool.” 

Sometimes, students are looking for something more (or less) than simple privacy. Whether sexiled themselves, or simply feeling adventurous, some frequently take their amorous activities out of their rooms and onto the campus at large.

 Brian Dunn, Troy sophomore, admitted to taking advantage of his 24-hour access to the upper floor of the Honors Observatory for more than just a little studying. 

“I just thought it would be cool to do it in an unconventional area,” said Dunn.

 He is not alone. According to Annie Lerew, ’04 Albion graduate, a friend of hers once broke into the Dow after hours to have sex in the hot tub.

 “It’s not so much about privacy – I think it’s more of a ‘dare to be dangerous’ kind of a thing,” said Jim Harris, Bloomfield Hills senior, who has heard of friends having sex in the Stockwell-Mudd Library tiers and the 4^th floor stairway in the Kellogg Center.

 According to Ken Snyder, director of campus safety, couples have been caught having sex in the nature center, all of the Dow parking lots, and on the football field in recent years.

 Students seemed more open and comfortable discussing their sexual activity than their professors and staff members who interact with students on a daily basis.

  “I try not to think about things like that,” said Lanya Lamouria, assistant professor of English. “I think it’s better to believe that students don’t exist below the neck.”

 Other professors, however, were more open to discussion of the matter.

 “I’ve always thought that the campus should open some sort of ‘sex hotel,’ where students could go to get some privacy,” said Sally Jordan, associate professor of English. “I think it’s a shame that students are ‘sexiled’ and forced to sleep in [residence hall] lounges.”

Jordan also said that one of the librarians kept a diverse assortment of underwear, left behind by students in the Stockwell-Mudd Library tiers and collected by staff members over the years.

 “We [members of the library staff] have actually seen people doing it in the tiers,” said Claudia Diaz, assistant director of Stockwell-Mudd Library. Though the underwear collection no longer exists, Diaz confirmed that it was started when a former librarian walked in on a student couple more than 20 years ago.

“I’ve also heard about students using the Wendell Will room [on the second floor of the library], because it has a door that locks,” Jordan said. “I would think that would be a bit more romantic [than the tiers].”