The Observer

Issue date: 11/6/09 Section: Opinion

In their last Sex and Dating column, the promiscuous "girls next door" told us Case students how to avoid the "awkwardness" of the morning after a one-night stand, breaking it down into 5 easy steps, including the ever-popular "don't stay for breakfast" and "don't add them on Facebook if the sex wasn't good." They start the column by saying that sex "isn't something to joke about" and then proceed to do just that - even going as far as to say that it's ok to remind your partner what happened the night before if the hook-up was drowned in alcohol (incidentally, taking advantage of a drunk person for sex can and is considered rape). Maybe sex is a joke to them and their opening statement was one of sarcasm. Regardless, their treatment of sex as an exercise in "increasing your numbers" through "practice" - sarcastic or not - is in my opinion, a reckless notion. Depression, loneliness (which is not defined simply as being without company; look it up), and other mental health issues, which often find their roots in a demeaning self-image, are real problems that students face - particularly at this stage of life. I vote to remove the nonsense Sex and Dating column and replace it with one that gives advice to students experiencing these and other types of health issues. It would be much more effective than a column which encourages behaviors that have been empirically shown to cause both mental health problems and STDs. Hey, they did mention that guys should wear a condom. That's a plus.

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