At first I wanted to post this in Greek Life, but I thought this might be better.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/18/ed...8chastity.html
By IVER PETERSON
Published: April 18, 2005
PRINCETON, N.J., April 17 - Yet another alternate sexual lifestyle is being promoted by a group of Princeton undergraduates: one of chastity and abstinence outside of marriage.
Members of the Anscombe Society maintain that campus life has become so drenched in sexuality, from the flavored condoms handed out by a resident adviser to the social pressure of the hook-up scene, that Princeton needs a voice arguing for traditional sexual values. Traditional, at least, from the days before their parents went to college.
Their aim is not to pass moral judgment, they say, only to inform.
"Even though morality does factor into it, we want to enrich the discussion of sexual issues and family," said Cassandra Debenedetto, a sophomore from Stow, Mass., who was one of the founders of the group last fall. "So we also present sociological data and medical research. We want to bring all of those issues in."
The group is named after Elizabeth Anscombe, the Cambridge University Anglo-Catholic whose 1977 essay "Contraception and Chastity" is famous among conservative Roman Catholics for setting out a philosophical defense of the papacy's strictures on sexual behavior. She died in 2001.
For the Princeton students, the idea is simply to be heard in an atmosphere that not only condones sexual activity among young adults, but, they maintain, expects it. When a group of members got together in the Frist student center to talk about their efforts recently, each could describe an eye-opening moment.
"I remember my freshman year, in my hallway at Forbes, we went to our residential adviser for our study break, and there with the soda pop and the chips was a bowl with flavored condoms," said Joan Claire Krautmann, a senior from Salem, Ore. "So immediately, when you get on campus, you're just bombarded with sexual material, and it's a whole different atmosphere from my Catholic high school upbringing."
Jennifer Mickel, a 19-year-old sophomore from Monroe, La., brought up abstinence at a women's forum at Ivy Council, an inter-campus student group in the Ivy League.
"The discussion was very sex-focused, like about having rape kits in medical centers and condoms and the morning-after pill," Ms. Mickel said. "And I asked, 'What do your schools have for women who are not having sex?' And the room fell silent. These delegates are appointed by their schools to be experts on these subjects, and no one had anything to say about abstinence."
Princeton's response to the Anscombe Society's complaint of campus-sponsored sexuality is that information is better than ignorance.
"The university does not take a position on the sex lives of our students, but we do take care to make them aware of health and safety issues," said Eric Quiñones, a university spokesman. "Our students are exposed to a variety of viewpoints through organizations such as this one, and this is an environment where students, hopefully, can learn all sides of the issues."
Reaction to the abstainers on campus has ranged from a friendly "It's about time," group members say, to the notion that they are chaste because they can't get dates.
Some students think that Princeton is already too chaste.
"This is a position that comes from an extreme religious background that sees any sexuality in an open setting as too much sexuality," said Robert A. Kennelley, a junior and spokesman for the Princeton Pride Alliance, a gay umbrella group. "I have heard discussions at the other end of the spectrum about the over-chastity of students here and at the elite schools, where kids are far more interested in their résumés, and in getting into the right grad school or the right bank, than in interpersonal relationships."
Ms. Debenedetto, who is co-president of the Anscombe Society, says the group has about 80 members, judging by its e-mail list. The university has also accorded the group official recognition, which gives the society the use of university rooms for meetings and a page (princeton.edu/~anscombe/) on the university Web site.
The group is heavily Catholic and politically conservative. Of seven members who sat for an interview recently, six voted for President Bush. The exception was David Schaengold, a sophomore from Cincinnati and self-described card-carrying Democrat whose hyperspeed delivery made him a natural as the group's spokesman.
-Rudey
--As always, read the rest at the link above.
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