The benefits of having more women than men on campus did not escape several of the male students either. Kyle, a senior at State University, mentions what happens when male friends, particularly friends from the Naval Academy, come to campus for a visit and see how many girls are available. “I don’t think every school is like State. . . . I have two friends that go to the Naval Academy. They love coming here; it is like Christmas for them. They are like ‘I can’t believe [it]. This is great! I would pay to go to school for this’ because [school] is free for them” [emphasis by interviewee].
Men from Faith University also recognized that the male/female ratio on campus worked to their advantage. Kevin, a senior at Faith, suggests that there is no point wasting a lot of time on one girl: “My attitude is that there are so many girls out there it does not even matter
[which one you go after for a hookup]. You can’t go psycho over girls, there are just too many of them out there.” Both men and women recognized that men could use the sex ratio on campus to their advantage. While men enjoyed the benefits of the surplus of attractive women on campus, the women expressed dis-pleasure over the opportunity men have to easily find new hookup partners or keep relationships with existing partners casual.
COLLEGE LIFE MAKES HOOKING UP EASY
The hookup system is sustained on campuses because aspects of college life make it simple. One factor that makes hooking up easy is the admissions process. Generally, the college one attends reflects one’s social class. At the two universities included in this study, the students are primarily drawn from middle- and upper-middle-class households. There are very few students at either university who would be classified as children of working-class or poor parents. In addition to social class, students at these universities have other important similarities: the overwhelming majority of students on both campuses are white; and, at T H E H O O K U P S C E N E
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Faith University, most students are Catholic and many attended private or parochial high schools. Thus, students at both universities are surrounded by people like themselves. It is well documented that individuals tend to match for potential romantic relationships with people that are similar to themselves in terms of race, age, religion, and social class.14 This fundamental, although often taken-for-granted fact of life on campus creates an environment where hooking up is more likely.
Students can choose hookup partners from a sea of eligible classmates.
Despite the obvious similarities among the student body, on college campuses containing thousands of people, most are strangers to one another. However, students do not seem like strangers to each other because they have so much in common—at least they have enough in common to be at the same college in the first place. Students also do not feel like strangers because many of them share friends; so when socializing, a friend is generally there to vouch for any person of interest. The point is that this atmosphere of trust and familiarity makes hooking up easier. Without such an air of familiarity, the hookup system would likely break down.
Another aspect of life on campus that contributes to the hookup culture is the proximity of college men and women to one another. Students living on campus reside in dorms and houses filled with fellow students. Even those who live off-campus are often in apartments or houses near many other students.15 There are very few restrictions currently on college campuses to keep men and women from having access to one another to engage in hooking up. When asked whether there were any campus policies in place that made it difficult to bring someone home for a hookup, most students suggested that this was no problem whatsoever. However, Jack, a sophomore, mentioned that Faith University does have a policy forbidding sexual intercourse in campus housing.
KB: Do you think the fact that [Faith University] is Catholic makes any difference regarding [sexual interaction on campus]?
Jack: The only thing I could say about that is the “no penetration” rule in the dorms, that’s the only thing I can see that would make any other school different.
KB: What’s the “no penetration” rule? I never heard of that.
Jack: Apparently you’re not allowed to have sex on campus; if you do you’re thrown out of school.
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KB: Is that right? Has that ever happened to anyone? How would anyone know if you did [have sex] or not?
Jack: An RA walking down the hall hears a girl moaning in her room or hears the bed banging against the wall or your next door neighbor calls security, anything.
KB: Is that something people are worried about, that they are going to get caught? Do people not have sex in the dorms because of that?
Jack: No, they definitely do, they are just a little more careful. It’s not announced as much. If you live off campus, it’s like:
“Who did you bring home last night, I heard the wall shak-ing?” It’s just kind of understood, on campus is definitely tougher.
Thus, there are no campus policies, at least none that were strictly en-forced, that keep college students from having easy “late night” access to one another.
Since many residence halls and off-campus housing are within walking distance of a bar, party, or other social event that college students attend, students can go to one another’s residence to hook up without violating the taboo of getting in a car with a stranger. Students also generally travel in groups; therefore, a friend is never far away. If a college woman wants to get away from a college man who is
