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Sex at Harvard

By Dana Goldstein - Apr 24th, 2007 at 10:36 am EDT

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Almost half of Harvard undergrads are virgins, while the national virginity average for college students is one-third.

This Crimson article is actually about abstinence ideologues on campus, but I thought that fact was funny.

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Not so fast...

By Graham Apr 24th 2007 at 2:25 pm EDT

There's good reason to believe that number is not statistically useful, even if it would be good snark fuel if true. It comes from an online survey with a good response rate, but likely not a random sample. Unless the UHS corrected for selection bias somehow, it's possible that a high percentage of the remaining 60 percent who did not respond were not virgins.

The original quote:
"According to an online survey conducted by University Health Services (UHS) last spring that drew an undergraduate response rate of 40 percent, nearly half of all respondents (47 percent) reported that they had never engaged in vaginal intercourse. The national average for undergraduates at other colleges stood significantly lower at 31 to 32 percent."

Not too surprising.

By Superduperficial Apr 24th 2007 at 3:01 pm EDT

The last time I saw UCLA's public health statistics, ~50% of the campus are virgins, and 60% haven't had sex in the past year.

I especially like this quote...

By Joe Apr 24th 2007 at 4:22 pm EDT

This is a good quote from the article:

“Personally, I would not endorse saving myself for after marriage,” says Chen, who is also a Crimson magazine editor. “Sexual chemistry is such an integral part of a relationship. As Samantha on ‘Sex and the City’ said, ‘you have to kick a car’s tires before buying it.’”

And who says the media doesn't affect attitudes about sex and marriage?

I confess

By Robert Waldmann Apr 24th 2007 at 6:39 pm EDT

Don't kid yourself Graham. College students are not ashamed to admit that they aren't virgins. On the other hand it is very painful to admit that when I personally graduated from Harvard (get that graduated) in 1982 I was a ... well technically I hadn't just yet ... well you get the picture.

I participated in one such survey (actually it was much much worse as it was conducted by Wellesley undergraduates who wanted to study the enduring image of Wellesley as a place where Harvard virgins could, you know, deal with their problem). I responded (I believe in social science). Handing in the survey and running away before they could look at it (largel blank).

This behavior helps you understand my problem of course. It feels good to fess up.

My point is that the true figure is over 50% I guarantee you.

Re: I confess

By Superduperficial Apr 24th 2007 at 11:20 pm EDT

I have several friends at Wellesley, and from what I hear, that's still the place to go. ;)

Re: I confess

By John James Apr 25th 2007 at 12:19 pm EDT

Sorry, but when I graduated in 1990, the number was far below 50%. Indeed, I would be hard pressed to think of many people who were not sexually active, at least intermittently. Even my freshman dorm entry in Weld was very incestuous, with lots of sexual activity. In fact, I was struck by how many women I knew who were unapologetic about their enjoyment of sex. Many guys still went to Wellesley and the like, but there is simply no way that anywhere near 50% of the students were virgins. Perhaps there has been a movement toward a more chaste lifestyle since I left, though I doubt it.

Re: I confess

By Mark May 2nd 2007 at 4:37 pm EDT

The thing I've found about Harvard: If you go out and talk to people, make new friends, etc, everyone seems very normal. I'm sure the virginity rate in this group is around the national average. But, because it's Harvard, we have an abnormally large population of students who basically don't leave their rooms, who avoid social events, and who you'll probably never talk to.

And they're probably almost all virgins.

As Lisa Simpson's delusions say:

By JR Apr 26th 2007 at 4:07 pm EDT

"Come to Radcliffe, and meet Harvard men."

"Or come to Wellesley and marry them."

Just thought I'd share.

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