College has long been the scene of drunken encounters and summer flings. Rather than long-term relationships, certain students partake in short-term alternatives such as friends with benefits, according to media stereotypes and conventional wisdom. Many students in university say they engage in casual, short-term relationships because they are afraid that long-term commitments might interfere with their careers.
But members of at least one student organization at Pitt consider casual sex an obstacle, not a means, to personal growth. As a member of the student group Off the Hook, Emily Blume, a junior majoring in English literature, works to promote healthy relationships in place of casual sex.
Rather than businesslike hookups, Off the Hook encourages students to have relationships with more permanence and commitment, Blume said.
But according to another student organization, the risks of hooking up are more hygienic than emotional or moral. Vox: Voices for Planned Parenthood works to raise awareness on different aspects of human sexuality.
The student group tries to do so through lobbying, movie nights, volunteering at the local Planned Parenthood clinic and distributing condoms to patrons at local bars. Elizabeth Armstrong, a sociologist at the University of Michigan, thought the behaviors were because of the thought that relationships were demanding and distracting.
