According to a Sexual Satisfaction Survey conducted by Lifestyle Condoms, after polling students ages 18-24, not one student claimed that they were not sexually active.

   Now, this does not mean that every single person on a college campus is in a sexual relationship; however, I think it is fair to say that college life is associated with a sex life in some form.

   More often than not, the media, movies, and television, portray a typical student’s college social life to thrive around binge drinking, bad decisions, and hook-ups.

   College is not only providing an academic education, but a carnal one as well.  Some people may not choose to think this way, but that does not mean it is not true.

   So on top of everything you are learning while advancing your education, you are also developing your mind, your sexuality, and your own identity as a person, not to mention developing a staggering amount of debt.

    The Project on Student Debt is an initiative of the Institute for College Access and Success. According to their website, which provides state by state data for students graduating with a deficit, seven in 10 seniors who graduated from public and nonprofit colleges in 2013 have student loan debt with an average of $28,400 per borrower.

  Here in Pennsylvania, it is even higher averaging about $32,528. If you are a currently enrolled as a student, that number is rather sickening.  So what do you do?

   Well, some people are resorting to something that they are doing anyway – having sex and dating.

  Founded in 2006, Seekingarrangment.com provides an opportunity for what I believe to be a new and modern type of dating, though their premise remains controversial.

    I am sure everyone has heard of the term Sugar Daddy or Sugar Baby, but in what connotation? How do people react to these words, or to the idea that someone particularly an older male, would want to pay a presumably younger female for her company?

   I would say a large number of people automatically think it is a slighted version of prostitution, but I don’t think that this assumption is entirely accurate.

   Even so, the stigma held against this sort of thing is not stopping people from trying it out for themselves.

  In an article from The Herald Standard, reporter Mike Tony dives into the world of sugar babies and how they are becoming more relative on college campuses.

  According to his article, a large handful of college students in our area are registered sugar babies on this website. Specifically 422 from Penn State, 166 from Pitt, 77 from WVU, 23 from Carnegie Melon, 16 from W & J, 13 from Cal U, 7 from Duquesne, and 6 from Waynesburg.

   This is obviously not a new, or uncommon thing happening in the world, but that does not mean everyone is on board with the whole idea.

   Men using seekingarangment.com are required to pay a $60 fee for private messaging privileges. Do I think this will filter through all of the skeezy men that are only looking for sex from these women? No. However, I think it’s a good place to start.

  The women using this website are students, primarily females, that are studying law, medicine, literature, accounting, etc. They are no different from any other female student, regardless of how they choose to spend their free time; in or out of the bed room.

   This sort of relationship it still held with such a high stigma that these girls often remain anonymous. They are unidentifiable from any other female walking around campus, though one thing does set them apart.  That $32,528 in student debt is probably significantly lower, for them, if it exists at all.

  Most would argue that these women are devaluing themselves, and that this type of relationship is a form of prostitution, but I don’t think that is a fair judgment or our place to judge at all.

   Sex is a norm. It has also become a more casual encounter over the last few decades, since apps like Tinder, make it easier to find people near you who are interested in having a commitment free sexual encounter, have helped fuel this idea.

   Is there a difference between two people choosing to have sex and then never speaking again, and someone being paid for their company over an extended period of time? I can’t say that I think so.

  These girls are in relationships. Maybe not a relationship in the traditional sense, maybe they do not consider themselves this person’s girlfriend, but these relationships progress just like any other would. They meet, they go on dates, they talk, get to know each other and if they choose to, they progress to a sexual relationship.

   While there may be people who jump in bed with their Sugar Daddy on their first encounter, the majority of these women take the time to get to know them first. It is also fair to say that while a majority of men do want sex from these women, some simply want company.

  Regardless, if these girls and these men have come to a mutual agreement based on their own personal desires and boundaries, I think that whatever happens between them, is meant to stay between them, as in any typical relationship.

   If these girls are attracted to, or interested in these men, and are getting enjoyment from their relationships, while simultaneously maintaining a more comfortable lifestyle financially, then I see it as an extension of the phrase “killing two birds with one stone.” Taking advantage of this does not make them any less of a morally sound woman.

   It gives them the power to make their own decisions pertaining to their body, and how they use it. Every woman, even those who would choose to not experiment with this new form of dating, should be happy with the power behind having that choice in the first place.

    Even if you flip these roles, taking an older woman who is looking to pursue a relationship with a younger man, the same esthetics still apply. Flipping gender roles, or ages does not make this type of relationship any less real, or valid to those choosing to pursue them.

    This brings up the question, does the gender of the older person in the relationship sway how people react to it? I would say so. Though it is not uncommon for girls to be attracted to older men, people have a tendency to assume that this attraction is financially bases with some sort of ulterior motive. Men on the other hand, are often applauded for “getting” with an older women. If you added a financial aspect to this reverse, would it make it less triumphant and more scandalous?

   The problem is not what people are doing behind closed doors or even how we judge them for it. The real issue here  is that the sexual roles associated with men and women in our society are still on completely different playing fields and held to different standards.