Sobering sexual ethics

By Christopher DaCosta

Whether it was that doe-eyed freshman you led home from the latest Greek event or your on-again-off-again senior Hut hookup, casual rendezvous at Santa Clara often call upon our capacity to fuse our carnal desires with our ethical aptitudes.

My friends and I often share our perspectives (and exploits) on "hooking up" rather frankly. I think four years of growth set against a backdrop of party-scene drama has left us all rather inured to tales of drunken debauchery. Gone are the days of milkshakes (not the Kelis brand) and movies. Dating has merged with the party-scene, evolving into an alcohol-fueled blur of eyelash batting, slurred flirting and sloppy kissing.

As hook up hedonists, my senior friends and I have always welcomed the idea of satisfying late-night cravings. However, one must approach pleasures of the flesh like one would approach Jack's Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburger on a full stomach of Natty Ice -- cautiously. Yet, while my friends all admit to being comfortable with the prospect of hooking up, they also admit that alcohol tends to magnify their randy yearnings, so much so that regret runs rampant the morning after. As one feisty co-ed put it, "alcohol: the root of all sex!"

I put aside my many Valentines from my vast legion of admirers to attend Monday's "Ethics at Noon: The Ethics of Hooking Up." I absorbed the research of psychology professors Doctors Sullivan and Plante. Opinion editor, Koren Temple, completed the trio of panelists, presenting her case study findings on Santa Clara relationships. The panel presented statistics regarding hookups that revealed a large portion of college-aged students are engaging in hookups.

The ethics involved with hooking up boiled down to an elementary value-approach, the RRICC model: Responsibility, Respect, Integrity, Competence, and Concern. This model provides an analysis on how to avoid drowning in the abyss of intoxicated affection while providing the cues on when to help rescue others.

Some explained that since they choose not to live by the lure of limber loins, they are often dubbed "love pariahs" -- a phrase a friend of mine coined. While abstinence can be fulfilling, indulging every once in a Friday night -- while remaining aware of the components of the RRICC model -- does not mean you are ethically challenged. Remember yourself and remember your values and maybe forget that shot of liquid courage before approaching that guy making eyes at you.

* Contact Christopher DaCosta at (408) 554-4546 or cdacosta@scu.edu.