Sex on a community college campus is not obsolete, and it is not obsolete on the Bakersfield College campus.
According to a survey of 30 students, 13 students claim that they heard rumors, know somebody whose had sex on campus, witnessed, or they themselves had sex on campus.
“I think I saw it happen in the bathroom once,” said communication major Natalie Martin, 20, “but that person could have just had four legs.”
“Yes, I know of two people who have had sex on campus,” said an anonymous theater major, 21.
LVN/communication major Melissa Secor, 24, said she heard about people having sex on campus, “I guess they couldn’t wait.”
Of those 13 students, two claim they witnessed people having oral sex.
“Yes, [in the] parking lot,” answered an anonymous 21-year-old communication major.
Two of the 13 students admitted to having sex on campus themselves; however, they did not reveal anything more.
Another 43-year-old psychology major admitted to having sex on a campus, but not on the BC campus.
A 37-year-old engineering major said he has had sex on the BC campus, but explained, “when there were dorms.”
According to psychology professor Becki Whitson, the reasons for students having sex on campus could be that BC is the only place for them to indulge in sexual relations because they may live with other people.
According to English/communication major Bryson Paul, 23, he has heard rumors about people having sex on campus, but he is not sure if they’re true.
“I’m pretty sure it has happened before. I know it took place at my old high school,” said Paul.
Another student also claimed that sex took place in the stairwells of her old high school.
Bathrooms, parking lots, and stairwells, where else could students find spaces to occupy?
According to Whitson, ideal places to have sex on campus include “unused classrooms, the forums, the library study rooms, storerooms [.], locker rooms, the football field” as well as bathrooms and parking lots.
“Not the bathrooms, but on two occasions odd sounds were coming from two different teachers’ offices,” said an anonymous 21 year old theater major, “at one point a student left one office.”
Whitson also said that students have been caught engaging in sexual intercourse in the forum, the gym, a classroom, and a storage building as well as evidence of sex such as condoms and semen on a racquetball court.
“In our building (LA) we watch couples all year long carry on quite voraciously on the balcony of the third floor outside,” said Whitson. “Sometimes we think we might have to hose them down.”
However, BC is not the only campus plagued with public sex.
According to Tina Abrams in The Daily, a student-run newspaper out of the University of Washington, “A few students wished to have sex in the office of an especially disliked professor.”
Not only were there fantasies about sexual locations, according to Abrams, students acted out their impulses in the laundry room, bathrooms, in classrooms, and the quad.
Although the university contains dorms, there are those who prefer the adrenaline rush.
According to the BC survey, seven students said that they acted out their impulses in public before, though it was not on the BC campus.
Daniel Gutierrez, 22, answered “not yet.”
Besides health risks, “This kind of behavior could lead to even riskier forms of sexual behavior,” said Whitson, “like fetishes, paraphilias, sex involving pornography at an abnormal level or even the need for more daunting public displays of sexual behavior which could put them at risk for getting arrested.”
However, Abrams composed “The unofficial sex guide” that contained rules to follow while having sex in public.
“Rule 1: Make sure to wear convenient articles of clothing. Rule 2: Find a location that is daringly close to people, but not blantantly in front of them. Rule 3: Be cautious of the audio levels. Rule 4: Be aware of the legality issues that may be involved while enjoying the little getaway.”
However, according to the BC survey, some students can learn from rule three.
Of the 30 students, nine claim they’ve heard weird noises in the bathrooms.
Two of those students describe those noises as sounding like monkeys, a gorilla, or bears.
“Yes, grunting,” answered an anonymous 21-year-old communication major.
According to English major David Rickett, 21, he hears weird noises, “which is why I spend as little time as possible in there.”
Four more students claimed they’ve heard weird noises in the bathrooms; however, they narrowed those noises down to having the runs and purging themselves.
“No,” answered an anonymous, 21, business administration major, “but I’ve never been to the bathrooms at BC before.”
According to DiscoveryHealth.com, “a recent national survey by the Society for Adolescent Medicine found that 73 percent of sexually active college students reported having sex while in school.”
In a study done by psychologists Donald Dutton and Arthur Aron, according to a sociology textbook, they “discovered that fear breeds love.”
The study included an attractive woman who approached men on two different bridges in British Columbia.
One bridge swayed and was dangerous, and the other bridge was low and stable.
Without the men knowing the woman’s true intentions, they wrote down their associations of what they saw in a picture that was shown to them by the woman.
According to the psychologists, “The sexual imagery in their stories showed that the men on the unsteady, frightening bridge were more sexually aroused than the men on the solid bridge.”
So, why are people aroused by danger?
According to Whitson, some may find public sex more arousing because they could be caught or watched by somebody.
“For some, it is even necessary for sexual arousal and orgasm,” said Whitson.
“There are also people who are not bothered by the constraints of society [.], added Whitson.
However, there are those who wish not to elevate their blood pressure.
“I respect myself and my boyfriend too much,” said Secor, “to have sex outside of our bedroom.”
“No,” said Martin, “never going to happen, ever.”