Pepperdine’s freshman class is bucking a long tradition of romantic ambiguity and confusion by — gasp — actually dating each other.
The class of 2016 moved into their dorms Aug. 21, 2012. Though most were strangers, New Student Orientation activities cultivated a rapid development of friendships, which turned into more-than-friends connections within days.
“I know people who started dating the week of NSO,” freshman Addy Ajijolaiya said. “I just cannot believe how quickly people move here.”
Some of the freshman couples formed friendships during send-off parties in their hometowns. Others are high school sweethearts. Still, upperclassmen believe this year’s freshman class has jumped into the dating scene at an unusually quick rate.
This natural inclination to date is not normal for a freshman class at Pepperdine, or even for upperclassmen.
Pepperdine Relationship IQ intern and senior Morgan Soper believes this new pattern is a positive change, but she urges freshmen to use caution in romantic relationships.
“I think it’s great that freshmen are taking the initiative to date more,” Soper said. “However, I do think that as freshmen, it’s important not to get too serious too fast.
As freshmen, it can be beneficial to start out as friends and progress into a romantic relationship. Studies show that it takes three months to truly know someone. Still, some freshmen are more mature and more ready for a serious relationship at this age, Soper said.
Relationship IQ Director Hannah Parmelee finds the openness to dating to be positive as well.
“Too frequently, students have been friends with a person they are romantically attracted to, but never clarified the relationship … they don’t know if the other person feels the same … going on dates provides intentionality and clarity to the relationship,” Parmelee said.
Parmelee’s primary concern is the physical aspect of a relationship. If it enters too quickly, it will bond a couple together through brain synapses and neurochemicals even if they do not want to be bonded together. This will make it much harder to break up even if it is a bad relationship, Parmelee said.
Dating is healthy; it can be a good way to get to know one another. Just be careful not to commit too quickly, Parmelee said.
In a survey of 100 Seaver students, 72 percent of upperclassmen said the freshman dating patterns are abnormal. Meanwhile, only 47 percent of the freshmen find their class’s dating patterns to be abnormal. The statistics show that the freshmen have a very different perspective of the dating scene on campus than do their elders.
“I think it is a little strange that so many people are dating already,” senior Skylar Wortman said. “I mean, it may last but you need to have a good friendship first, and I’m not sure if you have one after just three months.”
Senior Alejandra Jimenez recalled having Convocation series her freshman year on how to date.
“They were not only encouraging us to date, but also handing out cards with instructions on how to go about it,” she said.
Jimenez, however, said she believed freshman students were rushing the dating process.
“Though it is normal to have curiosity with all these new faces, I have never seen a class move so quickly toward dating,” Jimenez said. “It’s not always a good idea — transferring into college is a big enough change in itself.”
The fact that casual dating is not a common occurrence at Pepperdine may coincide with the apparent shock among students. Everything is relative — the Pepperdine community is not used to a group of people so interested in taking one another out to dinner and a movie, Jimenez said.
Perception may also be greater than reality.
According to the survey, 59 percent of freshmen have not been on a single date this semester. Of the remaining 41 percent, 10 percent said they have been on multiple dates with the same person, 16 percent said they have been on multiple dates with different people, and 15 percent said they developed an exclusive relationship with someone at Pepperdine.
Junior Erice Hutchison said the confusion upperclassmen are experiencing is mostly because their freshman experiences were so different.
“The amount of freshmen going out on dates is much larger this year,” Hutchison said. “And a lot more sudden for this class than for the previous freshman classes Pepperdine has had the past few years.”
Some freshmen do believe their classmates are rushing in.
“I think it is really weird the way the class of 2016 has been acting toward dating,” freshman Andrew Duff said. “We are here for the next four years, so just calm it down.”
Others are lukewarm in regard to the subject.
“I think casual dates at the beginning are normal,” freshman Christina Lasorda said.
“But maybe not exclusive.”
Freshman Jean Hartley said she believed the dating frenzy is on the wane.
“(The amount of dating) among the freshman class is a bit over-the-top, but it died down quickly as well,” Hartley said.
Hunter Fulsom completed this story in Dr. Christina Littlefield’s fall 2012 Jour 241 class.
