In the microcosm of BC, Kurdziel attributes the lack of dating to alcohol and the way it drives the social framework. Cronin agrees, saying, "dating doesn't fit into the drinking culture and its group dynamics." Christa Borgman, A&S '08, another student in the Vertices seminar, says that the current college generation is more focused on friendships between men and women and on socializing in groups. "We kind of use this as a crutch, though," Borgman says, "so we don't have to be in the awkward social situation of a date."
Cronin feels that the dating assignment is a chance for students to confront this awkwardness and step outside of the alcohol-fueled hook-up culture. For three years, students of Vertices have asked others on dates and reported their experiences back to the class. But in doing so, they must follow a few rules set by Cronin.
First, the student must ask someone in which he or she legitimately has interest. Second, they must ask the person out in person. No e-mailing or texting, Cronin says. "Texting is like the hook-up of communications and really impersonal." And most importantly, no alcohol or physical involvement can be involved.
As might be expected, not everyone completes the assignment. The first semester Cronin gave the assignment to the class, only one person completed it. But this semester, only three of her 18 students opted out.
Borgman did the assignment, and says, "It wasn't bad. Dating is just getting to know someone and hanging out. And not doing it means missing out on a valuable life skill. Kurdzeil agrees. As a philosophy major, she says, "Aristotle talked about the different forms of friendship. And dating is a part of that. It offers a way of getting to know yourself in a unique way with another person."
The Vertices seminar, as well as Cronin's talks on campus about dating, boast students of all years and both sexes. Cronin has found that male and female students are equally interested in this issue.
"This is," she says, pausing, "I think because fundamentally we all want the same things: to be desired, to be accepted, and to be loved." And because as all students collide and interact, befriend one another, hook-up, or date, "we are really much the same."
Spring Break
