Sex on campus: University of Southern California
We were meeting for lunch, at her request. She was a first-semester senior, a bright, lively, attractive young woman. I assumed she wanted to ask me for a recommendation for graduate school or for a job. But she stunned me: "What is wrong with me?" she pleaded. "Why isn't anyone hitting on me?"
I know the culture that prompted this outburst. On some segments of the campus, the tales are shared proudly: "I didn't know how much I'd drunk!" "He really wanted me!" "His regular was gone for the weekend, and we just ended up together." Institutional interventions seem all but meaningless. When administrators try to limit party nights, the parties move off campus into private homes. Health center staff try to educate students and peer mentors seek to keep students safe and informed, but they can't change the culture as a whole. We would do well to admit that we are in the midst of changing social norms and to note how many different norms there now are.
I know couples who met as freshman and have worked hard at determining how they could move together into individual careers while continuing to develop their relationship. I know couples who began a relationship in high school and are loyal to that relationship even while attending different colleges. I know male and female roommates, one gay, one not, who provide stability and protection for one another in difficult circumstances. I know two compassionate and caring gay young men, not in a sexual relationship, who are listening to and working with a male friend who is confused by his lack of attraction to the "really hot" females who are very interested in him. I know many students whose social interactions will be very limited until they enter a relationship that is approved by their families.
