As the sun drops behind Egan Chapel on a Friday afternoon, the students at Fairfield begin to gossip.
Alcohol? Hook-ups? Girls? Sex?
The sound of students discussing the events the night may bring can be heard throughout the dorms, on back porches of townhouses, and along the pathways of campus.
Ryan Farias ’05 said that some Fairfield students go out at night with the intention of hooking up.
“I’d definitely say there are students, both male and female, who go out on a weekend night with the declared intention that they’re going to hook up with someone,” he said. “Just as many students declare that they’re going to get trashed.”
The Today Show’s co-host Katie Couric recently aired a news special on teenagers and sexuality.
Couric interviewed eleven girls and nine boys aged 13-16 in Key Biscayne, Fla.
“I was personally shocked,” said Couric to the Associated Press, “how casually young people treat oral sex and how it’s considered much less intimate than intercourse.”
Contrary to Couric’s statistical findings, the Center for Disease Control found that sexual activity has declined for younger teenagers between 1995 and 2002.
Never married females 15-17 years of age who had never had sexual intercourse dropped from 38 percent in 1995 to 30 percent in 2002.
For those age 18-19, the percentage that had sexual intercourse rose from 68 percent in 1995 to 69 percent in 2002.
For males, the percentage who had taken part in sexual intercourse fell from 43 percent to 31 percent for males 15-17, and fell from 75 percent to 64 percent for ages 18-19.
If young teenagers treat sex this way, how do college students treat sex?
According to a report by the Institute for American Values titled, “Hooking up, Hanging out, and Hoping for Mr. Right: College Women on Mating and Dating Today,” the practice of “hooking up” between college men and women is common and deeply influences the campus culture.
*75 percent of those surveyed agreed that hooking up is “when a girl and a guy get together for a physical encounter and don’t necessarily expect anything further.” The definition of a physical encounter ranged from kissing to having sex.
*In a national survey, 40 percent of women said they experienced a hook up, and 10 percent said they had done so more than six times.
*The ambiguity of the phrase “hooked up” was popular for that very reason. The term “hooked up” allowed women to be vague about the nature of the hook up while admitting to its happening.
Farias differed between casual and random hook ups.
“I think there’s a huge difference,” he said, “between random hook ups, that imply once, and casual hook ups, that imply frequency with the same person.
“However, for a hookup to become casual, it must have started off as random. Is there a danger?
Yes.
But most students are willing to consciously make the endeavor,” he added.
“The difference between a casual hook up and a random hook up is that a random hook up is one that is not expected,” said Dede Tabak ’05. “It is usually done under extremely intoxicated states and committed with a stranger or someone you’re barely acquainted with.”
“A casual hook up is more of a ‘friends with benefits’ deal where you know the person and hook up with them on a regular basis,” she added.
Another student agreed with Farias and Tabak.
“When you head into a random hook up,” said Tim Eberle ’05. “It’s assumed that it’s a one time deal, with no real commitment on either side…it just sort of happens in the moment.”
“A casual hook-up implies some sort of attachment, even if it’s only a physical attraction,” he added.
Mark Reed, dean of students, said, “That risky behavior is always a concern of university officials. Often, but not in all the cases, sex is related to alcohol and/or drugs, and the level of risk increases.”
Reed encouraged students to take the time to reflect on their decisions.
He said that there are numerous resources on campus to talk about sex and other topics including campus ministry, health services and counseling services.
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