By Alyssa Hirkaler | Staff Writer
Recently on campus, author and lecturer Donna Freitas presented “The Truth About Hookup Culture (and Figuring Out the Meaning of Sex Within It)”. Dr. Anthony LoPresti, a professor of Religion and Theology, as well as a personal friend of Freitas, commented “Dr. Freitas challenged students to think carefully about what they want their sexual lives to look like, and whether hook-up culture actually delivers what they are hoping for.”
Dr. LoPresti continues, “While hook-up culture is just as prevalent at Catholic universities as it is on state or private/secular universities, Dr. Freitas maintained that Catholic colleges and universities are especially well equipped to help students work out their ideas on what constitutes a fulfilling sexual life. With core requirements in religion, philosophy and the social sciences, as well as numerous programs run by the Mercy Center and Student Affairs, Salve has the ability to engage students on this issue in meaningful ways. The question is, ‘How well will we respond to the need?’”
In her lecture, Freitas points out that she surveyed Catholic, evangelical, private and public college institutions. Two-thousand-five-hundred students of all genders and sexual orientations were interviewed either in person or online. The study shows that forty-one percent of students felt “ashamed” of their behavior, twenty-three percent expressed “ambivalence” about hooking up, and thirty-six percent felt “fine” with their actions. It also shows many students think religious teachings are “outdated” and do not relate their actions to their religion. Only seven-percent of students at Catholic, private, and public schools felt their friends “valued sex in committed, loving relationships.”
Some students at Salve on athletic teams were required to go to the lecture, but it also drew attention from many non-athletic students as well. Freshman J.L. commented that he “doesn’t see the point of random hook ups. I would rather be in a serious relationship with someone than have to worry about that.” S.H. thinks “Girls will have to deal with a different reputation than guys will. It sounds bad if a girl hooks up with someone, but guys will be congratulated. With today’s social media more people find out and society becomes more judgmental about it.”
H.K. says “I think that’s the expectation of meeting people in college. Most people are not looking for serious relationships and people just have want to have fun. It’s each person’s own decision.” S.P. thinks “People have different ideas what hooking up is, and everyone kind of does their own thing. And everyone has different expectations on what will happen next, whether they will keep hooking up or start dating. In high school, hooking up is the latest gossip, but in college it’s the norm.”
The reality of the hookup culture is that there’s no real definition of hooking up. It seems that everyone has a different definition of what hooking up is all about. Having everyone constantly shame away from it or brag about it makes people have different thoughts and ideas, some of which are not true. Dr. Frieta’s study shows that hooking up is not the reality we all thought it was.
