2008 Woodie Awards
Hooked, dating explored.
Kathleen Maynard and Anna Keleman
Issue date: 4/30/08 Section: Features
According to the Health Center, requests for the morning after pill are highest after event filled weekends such as Loudness that tend to lend themselves to facilitating the ever-infamous "random hook-ups." Countless students spend Friday and Saturday dinners discussing the "mad hook-ups" they hope will occur during another night of socializing. And, of course, it's always easy to spot the early morning "walks of shame," marked by frazzled hair and mismatched clothes. But are random hook-ups really all there is to the dating scene on Mayflower Hill?
Student responses to this question varied from bold statements such as "No one has dated at Colby," to "The majority of my friends are dating someone." Other students walked the middle line, acknowledging the relationships that exist on campus-but emphasizing the divide between dating and "hooking up." But others insisted that dating at the College is "non-existent...people are either single-a.k.a. randomly hooking up-or in a serious, borderline 'married' relationship. Not much gray area exists here."
While there is no doubt that the dating atmosphere on campus has changed dramatically since the time of strict "four feet on the floor" rules our parents and grandparents may have encountered, is our campus culture really not conducive to dating? One student cited modern changes in communication styles as partially responsible for this seemingly anti-dating environment. "First off, I think it's important to note that our generation has changed the way that couples that are college age typically date. Accessibility to technology and media is somewhat responsible for this seeing as there is less face to face contact-even if just platonic-because using cell phones, facebook, the internet, texting, etc is just plain quicker. Without these interactions, the potential net loss of person to person connections exists."
Another student felt that the College community's size is complicit in detracting from the dating culture. "I do not think such a small and interconnected bubble, such as Colby is conducive to 'dating.'" Many students who view dating as an avenue to get to know one another find the intimacy of the campus limiting. "Often I find that at least one of my friends has some sort of connection to a guy that might interest me, therefore making him 'off-limits.' And also - people talk here. Generally everyone has some sort of reputation in some form or another, and it's hard to break out of that easily."
Student responses to this question varied from bold statements such as "No one has dated at Colby," to "The majority of my friends are dating someone." Other students walked the middle line, acknowledging the relationships that exist on campus-but emphasizing the divide between dating and "hooking up." But others insisted that dating at the College is "non-existent...people are either single-a.k.a. randomly hooking up-or in a serious, borderline 'married' relationship. Not much gray area exists here."
While there is no doubt that the dating atmosphere on campus has changed dramatically since the time of strict "four feet on the floor" rules our parents and grandparents may have encountered, is our campus culture really not conducive to dating? One student cited modern changes in communication styles as partially responsible for this seemingly anti-dating environment. "First off, I think it's important to note that our generation has changed the way that couples that are college age typically date. Accessibility to technology and media is somewhat responsible for this seeing as there is less face to face contact-even if just platonic-because using cell phones, facebook, the internet, texting, etc is just plain quicker. Without these interactions, the potential net loss of person to person connections exists."
Another student felt that the College community's size is complicit in detracting from the dating culture. "I do not think such a small and interconnected bubble, such as Colby is conducive to 'dating.'" Many students who view dating as an avenue to get to know one another find the intimacy of the campus limiting. "Often I find that at least one of my friends has some sort of connection to a guy that might interest me, therefore making him 'off-limits.' And also - people talk here. Generally everyone has some sort of reputation in some form or another, and it's hard to break out of that easily."
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