Sex at Oxy By Rae Contreras Three upperclassmen and two frosh are gathered in a Sterns Hall single, drinking

and debating the politics of casual sex. Why are all the girls so uptight here? complains one male film major, an exchange student from Europe. Girls here cant have sex without wanting something more. There still seems to be this ritual of guytakes-girl-on-date. In my country, girls pursue the guys. His comments spark angry rebuke from the two women present. If a guy wants sex, he should make the effort-date or not, argues the freshman female, a native of L.A. You cant expect sirens to knock on your door while you wait in your room wishing for sex. The irony of a liberal arts school being the haven of sexual conservatism is worth examining. Not only is it being waged by college-age kids-an age bracket presumed to be as, if not more, sexually active than most, but that these students live, work and play in one of the most diverse and glamorous cities in the world, Los Angeles. At Occidental College, does a (generally-speaking) liberal student body think as openly about sex as they do politics? Or are we really just pseudo advocates of free love that turn red in the face at the mention of a threesome? A survey taken this month by nearly 10 percent of the Oxy student body indicated that personal sexual politics tend to separate along gender lines, with more men than women willing to engage in casual sexual behavior. Out of 151 students, 45 percent of males and only 13 percent of females said they would sleep with a person on the first date. However, when asked whether it was okay to have more than one sexual partner at a time, both the majority of males and females preferred a single partner. This, according to Junior Andrew Rose, is no surprise. A lot of people here are conservative, theres a lot of traditional, supposedly monogamous, boy/girl relationships, he said. But Senior Steve Otis believes that these results may not be telling the whole truth. [Students] may be more conservative than they perceive themselves to be, he said. But then again, I also hear things that shock me. Mathias Gonzales, a junior, agrees. Some people have casual sex, but [most] people stick to their morals. Morals? Arent college students supposed to embody the classic case of rampant hormones and wild sexual escapades? Maybe on some campuses, but the chances of seeing any late night infomercials advertising Wild Occidental College Orgies Caught On Tape seem slim-to-none. However, the claim that Oxy students are out of touch with their animal instincts is not a universal truth. According to the survey, 58 percent of males and 34 percent of females approved of casual sex-i.e. sex outside of an exclusive relationship. Some

girls are afraid to be open about their sexuality because there are so many negative connotations about a girl who likes to have casual sex, said a junior woman who asked to remain unnamed. Negative connotations regarding promiscuity-the all-too-familiar fear of walking across the quad in shame for the next four years-is not limited to females. Guys can get perceived as sluts too, countered junior Dane Knezek. Some guys actually do want relationships. Maybe so, but then what prevents them from getting the girl? The dating pool here is really so small...people hear things about you, true or not, and never really take the initiative to make their own impressions of you. I think that dilutes that content, if you know what I mean. These comments from Gerald, a junior, speak to the pitfalls of the sex life at a small, private liberal arts college. In overcoming peer group perceptions, Occidentals size poses a substantial relationship roadblock. Not only does gossip get in the way of normal dating practices, but, chances are, your partner of choice has already taken a dip in the dating pool. Survey results reported that 45 percent of males and 34 percent of females have made out with other Oxy students. Of those people, 37 percent of males and 17 percent of females have slept with at least one other schoolmate. [Either] I already know the guys history, or my friends have gotten to him first and thats gross, said an anonymous junior. Oxy incest-politically incorrect for intragroup dating among friends-is difficult to avoid at a school with only 1,800 members. Widening those few degrees of separation between students proves all the more difficult when they already share everything from textbooks to bathrooms. By this logic, swapping of sexual partners is bound to happen. But, according to the students surveyed, 70 percent of males and 80 percent of females said they would be bothered if they had the same partner as someone in close contact with them. If its not the fear of partner swapping or gossip that keeps sex at bay, the dating pool is yet another reason. Rose said he hesitates to date anyone in the gay community because theres so few. Its too close for comfort and sexual relationships can get messy; Id rather date offcampus, he said. The available selection becomes even more diminished, said Gerald, when you factor in materialism and defined social cliques. If I wore Abercombie, would you talk to me? he said. Evidently, the dating pool here is very stratified, and is seemingly regulated by some social hierarchy. It is as if there social prerequisites for dating certain people. People just need to keep it real and drop the pretense, he said. These frustrations are not exclusive to Oxy, said Allison, a senior at Emerson College in Boston. Sixty-five percent of the guys are gay and the rest are ugly, antisocial

or have girlfriends, she said. Many girls date guys from Berkeley School of Music or some other Boston college. But still, there is a lot of casual sex. People are very experimental with drugs and sex. Relationships are less prevalent here. All the girls I was interested in were lesbians, said Rob, a recent Emerson graduate. Rob also dated people from other schools because, like Oxy, Emerson was very cliquey and some guys were left out, like me, he said. Claremont McKenna College, said Katie, a senior, is home to a majority of conservatives and very little casual sex. There are a lot of virgins and people are uptight. Less sex happens because people date within their school and dont want to ruin their reputations, she said, describing what seems to be a trend among small liberal arts institutions. The good thing is there are more guys than girls, so girls are at an advantage. They can be more picky because guys compete with each other, said Katie. This last observation, however, is not an Oxy trait. According to Princeton Review, the current female to male ration at Oxy is 14 to 11-meaning men, not women, have the upper hand. Also, date rape is rare, she added. I dont know anyone who has been raped, whereas I know someone at Oxy who has. Katie brings up another important issue in sexual politics, one that has recently become the battle cry of Oxy student activists seeking to establish an official sexual assault policy (see article pg 7). The complaint that Oxys small size makes for an unhealthy sex scene seems slightly odd, considering that the school is surrounded by one of the worlds most populous cities. Andrew Rose says that students generally dont get out of Eagle Rock to experience L.A. nightlife. Oxy is their nightlife, so theres nothing else for them to do but have sex, which creates drama. People dont seem to realize that were in a big city and theres plenty of fish in the sea outside of Oxy, Rose said. People treat sex as an outlet, said Mathias Gonzalez. It shouldnt be recreational, it should be intimate. But The Oxy Sex Club has yet to surface, and students arent fessing up to the kinds of sex Rose and Gonzalez are implying. 48 percent of males and 65 percent of females surveyed considered hooking-up to be just making out. This being said, it follows that 24 percent of guys and 35 percent of females are still virgins. So how much sex is really going on? Are we all talk and no walk? According to one anonymous source, scandalous rumors dont always measure reality. Your rumored life always seems to be more scandalous than your actual life. People are so ready to assume someone is having sex. Like if a girl talks to a guy at a party, next thing you know, they had sex. Sex at Oxy? Less people doing it than you think.