Dating question is academic
'Hookups' prevail on area campuses
After touring campuses from Chelsea to Durham, N.H., I've reached a conclusion: College dating is on the brink of extinction.
Being a 20-year-old college sophomore, I know that conclusion isn't too shocking. In a sense, it's almost comforting. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who finds dating on campus, well, hard to find.
You might see a couple grabbing some coffee at the local Dunkin' Donuts, but that's about the extent of it.
The last time I went on an actual date was my senior year in high school. The guy picked me up at my house and we got something to eat, then played pool. His treat.
So, if college students aren't dating, what are they doing?
''One-night stands, hookups," said Heather Zguro, a 20-year-old sophomore from Westfield who attends Salem State. ''Half of the people here don't date."
Zguro and others say the majority of students aren't meeting people with the intent of starting a relationship. They'd rather just hang out with friends at parties, bars, and school events.
Based on the 2001 report ''Hooking Up, Hanging Out, and Hoping for Mr. Right: College Women on Mating and Dating Today," conducted by the Institute for American Values, Zguro's remarks aren't as far-fetched as one might think.
Hooking up, which is understood on campuses as anything from kissing to one-night stands, seems to have replaced traditional dating. Forty percent of college women admit to having a hookup at least once, according to the report.
But why?
''College has changed a lot," said University of New Hampshire freshman Sarah Higgins, 18, of Woburn. ''It's not where you meet your life partner anymore. It's where you have fun. Before, high school was where you had your fun, but now, it's college."
James DiClemente, 19, of Medford, a sophomore at Salem State, said, ''From what I've seen, [college is] a good place to meet people, but not people looking for any kind of long-term relationship."
Not wanting to commit is a huge factor in why people just hook up, students say.
''Contrary to popular belief, there are an equal amount of girls as there are guys who won't commit," said Catriona Wilkey of Hopkinton, N.H., an 18-year-old freshman at UNH. ''Everyone here has the notion of being young in college, so why date?"
Twenty-year-old Salem State junior, Mike O'Brien of Randolph said, ''People shy away from commitment. It's not worth it."
Nathaniel Crocker, 18, of Revere, a freshman at Bunker Hill Community College in Chelsea, said, ''I think it's because they want to be out there. It's what, like, MTV promotes: 'I want to be young now.' They don't want to be tied down with something. It's all about experiencing, but I don't buy into it. It gets people hurt, but that's how it is."
Being someone's boyfriend or girlfriend in college seems to be unthinkable. A couple can spend months being intimate -- emotionally and physically -- yet not be considered to be in a relationship.
Higgins explained it best: ''being whatever with people."
''Everyone's confused," she said. ''We had more actual titles in high school than in college. No one wants to ask what they are, what kind of a relationship they're in."
Added Jason Busby, an 18-year-old UNH freshman from Long Island who attempted to date someone from school: ''There's not as much romance with people. [Hooking up] is a lot more accepted in our generation."
Not having the time or the money seems to be another reason for the drop in dating on campus.
''Everyone's busy with school," said Bunker Hill freshman Barbara Hunter, 18, of Belmont. ''It takes a lot more work and is a lot more stress."
According to Zguro from Salem State, ''People would rather spend their money on alcohol."
For those who genuinely do want to find someone in college, there may be a light at the end of the hookup tunnel.
''It changes around senior year," said Higgins, a sociology major who has participated in classroom discussions with juniors and seniors about dating. ''Girls are tired of hooking up and so are guys. You want to settle down."
Jenny Amaral, Globe North's editorial assistant, is a journalism major at Northeastern University. 