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The cameraBack to Stanford University: Changing Lives Since 1891
"There's more dating in a monastary."
-Princeton Review's "Best 250 Universities in America" (1994)
"Since 1970, with the introduction of coed dorms, men and women seem to treat each other like brothers and sisters rather than potential dates. I think it's sad. I've seen it (dating) work here, and it's possible, but I haven't seen it very often."
-Prof. Ron Rebholz (Feb. '97)
The popular belief is that Stanford students do not date, instead they engage in one-night stands or random hookups or go straight into being "married." What is meant by being "married" is that the new couple spends all of their free time together. The common reasoning behind this, as stated in the blogs, is that Stanford students are extremely stressed with academic work, leaving them very little free time. When they happen to get a moment or two to spare they want to make it worthwhile and spend it in pleasurable company. Since this doesn't happen very often, couples are forced to study together, eat together, and do other daily functions together in order to spend time with each other.
Many people view the lack of casual dating as having a harmful effect on Stanford. People have interpreted and reacted to the statement "Stanford students don't date" in various ways.
Some propose more hookups as the solution to this problem. Stanford's own Dr. Philip Zimbardo published a 
Guide to Scoring on Stanford in collaboration with his students. Roxy Sass and other columninsts frequently write Daily articles encouraging hookups or telling of their own conquests on the farm.
Others view the problem as the non-existence of casual dating. They agree with studies describing the dangers of a random hookup and see the problem as a lack of casual dating on Stanford. Comments like Professor Rebholz's lead one to the conclusion that some phenomenon similar to that of the Ladder Theory is to blame, but most students blame The Stanford Bubble for the lack of places to go on dates, The Stanford Social Scene for being incompatible with getting to know people, and the opposite sex (or sex of interest) for being the source of the problem. Guys aren't assertive enough and girls arent' hot enough are two of the claims often made, but the surveys conducted for this project do not definitively lead to this conclusion. Regardless of their reasons, many Stanford students relate to Roxy Sass's article, "Stanford Dating Hard or Limp?"
However, I have come to see this phenomenon as a self-fulfilling prophecy. Stanford students buy into this notion that nobody dates on campus and thus become less likely initiate dates or accept them if they are offered. Looking at the surveys most students stated that they don't take the initiative to ask people out on dates or arrange future meetings, but that if someone asked them out to lunch or coffee after just meeting them, they would say yes. Most of the people who answered no to this hypothetical situation cited that they were currently in a relationship.
The Casualties of Casual Sex: The College Hookup Phenomenon
Dr. Zimbardo's Guide to Scoring on Stanford
