The Journal

Issue date: 10/13/05 Section: Opinion/Editorial

Stephanie Kiszczak

Even as temperatures dip outside, the inside of the University Center remains steamy. On a recent trip to the UC for lunch, all I was hoping for was a sandwich. Instead, I found myself audience to a little soft-core porn.

What I saw was a couple shoving their tongues down each other's throats and heavily groping one another. While eating my lunch and attempting to chat with a friend, I couldn't help but gawk. The sight of excessive lip locking during lunch was a total turnoff. It was after this experience I feel there should be limits to extensive make-out sessions and other obscene forms of public displays of affection (PDA) on campus.

Make-out cases like that don't always occur in the UC. In order to be conspicuous and keep spicing things up in a relationship, on-campus couples tend to mix it up a bit. Smack dab in the middle of the UC, parking garage and Emerson Library are all make-out hot spots. A little kiss here and there doesn't hurt, but hot n' heavy making out in public is inappropriate.

In that regard, Webster students might feel lucky there is no rule on campus PDA. They can grab a quick kiss from a significant other between classes and no one thinks twice.

At other schools, however, even a quick peck on the cheek is a punishable action. In March of 2004, the Undergraduate Government of Boston College proposed a ban for on-campus PDA. Described in an article in The Heights, Boston College's student newspaper, the proposal would forbid "kissing, pecking, cuddling, canoodling, petting, caressing, hugging, holding, groping, necking, licking, sitting on another's lap, hand-holding and any other behavior deemed inappropriate."

An argument for the legislation was that "building community" was part of the college's motto and the greatest divide between singles and couples was campus PDA. By outlawing such actions on campus, the bridge between the two would form and everyone would feel comfortable and have a sense of belonging, according to a student government officer.

This sounds extreme, even for a private, Jesuit university. With 9,000 undergraduates and about 4,700 graduate students at Boston College, there can't be that much making out on campus - or could I be wrong? I'm not exactly sure what "canoodling" is, but it doesn't sound all that pleasant.

Let's look at another school, Ohio Valley University in Vienna, W. Va. This Christian university already has a section in their policies and procedures about public displays of affection. "You should have respect for yourself, your dating partners and others and must therefore avoid public displays of affection." Following this is a first offense warning and a second offense of "one week on behavioral probation," and denied participation in extracurricular activities. Any additional PDA offenses go before the Code of Conduct Committee, a board of university officials, faculty and Student Government Association members.

While the aforementioned schools are of some religious affiliation, it seems a little harsh to have such set rules on PDA. I'm only suggesting limits for Webster, not a campus-wide ban. Kissing and hugging should not be banned on Webster's campus, but out of respect for those around you, or at least those in a 10-foot radius, students should be considerate. I give credit to the make-out mischiefs in the parking garage; a car provides a little more privacy than the crowded UC, especially if the car windows are tinted.

Holding hands, kissing, pecking and hugging are all forms of acceptable PDA in my book.

But it's the ferocious lip action and body rubbing that need to be kept private. I know what the can't-keep-your-hands-off-each- other stage is like in a relationship, which is all the more reason to keep those intimate moments private. I shouldn't have to watch soft porn while eating lunch. Spit swapping does not go well with a sandwich.



Stephanie Kiszczak, a junior journalism major, is the LifeStyle editor for The Journal.

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