Strayer's analysis of sex at the College misses the mark
To the Editor:
I like to think that the average person has some understanding of his surroundings. That he can look at the world around him and draw intelligent conclusions based upon his environment. I used to think that. Until I read "Is Dartmouth Undersexed?" by John Strayer, '96 (Nov. 21, 1995).
First of all, his analysis of social life at Dartmouth lacks basis in reality. There is in fact not "enormous pressure, especially on a man, to lie and say that he went 'all the way.'" I wouldn't have written this letter except that I don't want to allow him to perpetuate this myth which seems to prevail in society that men are pressured to exaggerate their sexual exploits.
But your average mature human male, by the time he has reached his college years, has a better understanding of the world than that and knows that a man's worth is not determined by the plenitude of his libido.
Second, Strayer's analysis of Greek life is at best naive. While his "bro's before ho's" mentality may exist in some of the men's drinking clubs on campus, it does not exist at the fraternity to which I belong, and certainly it is not the attitude of the average non-Greek. At my fraternity, we deliberately create social functions which fight the "hook-up" versus "marriage" polarity of the Dartmouth dating scene. And any person who finds a way to escape the Dartmouth dating trap would receive my applause, not my scorn. I wonder if Strayer is merely projecting his own sexually-frustrated viewpoint onto his presuppositions concerning Greek life.
Third, I have no desire to hear about his "self-stimulation" and "stained sheets." Too much information, thank you very much. I'm disappointed that The Dartmouth would actually print these blabberings about his sexual frustration and deviance.
Finally, the solution offered by his article was just plain garbage. I marvel that one can conclude, based on the unfounded assumption that there isn't as much meaningless sex on this campus as people think, that there should be more sex on this campus. Thank you, but his sexual frustration is really none of my business.
