A hole different world
Underneath the noses of unsuspecting students, anonymous sex is occurring in buildings across campus.
By: Richard Creecy
Issue date: 12/8/09 Section: Opinion
Most Aggies pride themselves on the aesthetic appeal of campus. Both antiquated and modernly designed buildings are surrounded by large open cobblestone walkways and courtyards dotted with old growth trees, at least for now. But this lovely campus has a dark side some will find hard to swallow. Often as most students go about their business, illicit and anonymous sex occurs publicly in the very buildings we call home.
A quick search through the personals section of Craigslist might reveal more of this world than readers care to know. The use of study rooms in Evans for sex is better known, but these activities spillover into every corner of the University. To truly realize the extent of what goes on behind closed doors, visit the men's bathroom on the second floor of the Academic Building.
A casual observer might never notice the walls separating the bathroom stalls across campus are made of incredibly hard material, largely stainless steel or some form of faux marble. But a few weeks ago, the walls of the aforementioned bathroom were replaced with thick plastic. In a shorter period of time a large 8" hole along with several smaller peep-holes have been cut and melted into the walls. As early as the eighties, anonymous public sex has been happening on campus, and a lot of it. Even older generations of Aggies know about the reports and rumors about various places on campus being used for public anonymous sex.
During an interview with a professor who wished to remain anonymous, the seriousness of these sexual exploits became obvious. The professor told a harrowing tales about one night in the late 80s, when he and his three young children were in the Academic building and went to use the restroom. Upon entering in the restroom he encountered several males openly performing various sex acts. Needless to say he was mortified. In fact, the older classroom doors that had grates in them making it very easy for one to bend wide enough to reach through and unlock the door for larger "engagements." Decades later, the glory hole carved into the second floor of the bathroom of the same building tells the same story.
Efforts to curb public cuckolding on campus seem to have been, at best, modestly successful. Online posts and personals provide countless chances for a homosexual encounter, and the details of even browsing these messages are too graphic to repeat or even believe. But since these sexual opportunities seem to attract largely the gay community, the situation begs the question: why Texas A&M? Our school is ranked the 8th most conservative school in America by the Princeton Review, and seems like an improbable location. To answer this question, I interviewed a poster of a similar craigslist.org advertisement.
The poster spoke only on the condition of anonymity, and so will be referred to as Mike. Mike is 26 years old and a life long resident of Bryan and he does not, nor ever did, attend any higher education. Mike responded to the question of why Texas A&M campus with several explanations. The main point was that College Station is the perfect distance between Dallas, Austin and Houston. As for the location, it would not seem odd to anyone to see people of all ages walking around campus all hours of the night.
Also, perhaps due to the aforementioned conservative tendency of the towns, there seems to be a larger number of homosexuals in the area than the general population realizes. Most have not come out yet and many have no intention of doing so. Mike added there is no fear that they will be caught, and because of that he is able to "meet up with" up to 15 new partners a semester. I concluded by asking Mike why this anonymous sex had to be on campus. Certainly there were more safe and sanitary places for men to enjoy each other's company than a bathroom. Mike told me that there was more thrill in using public facilities and that he has a "good thing going" with no intention of ever stopping.
There will always be people like Mike who take advantage of an open door policy, a larger question is where are the University Police who patrol campus 24 hours a day? Public sex has occurred long enough at A&M, and instead of simply fixing vandalized facilities, our fees and tuition should go towards stopping it. The University needs to put back those fancy non-permeable walls, and actually make their security employees do their job to protect the students, faculty, and staff from having to be subjected to these seedy and illegal sex acts.
Richard Creecy is a senior classical studies major and is special to the Battalion.
http://media.www.thebatt.com/media/storage/paper657/news/2009/12/08/Opinion/A.Hole.Different.World-3847440.shtml
Underneath the noses of unsuspecting students, anonymous sex is occurring in buildings across campus.
By: Richard Creecy
Issue date: 12/8/09 Section: Opinion
Most Aggies pride themselves on the aesthetic appeal of campus. Both antiquated and modernly designed buildings are surrounded by large open cobblestone walkways and courtyards dotted with old growth trees, at least for now. But this lovely campus has a dark side some will find hard to swallow. Often as most students go about their business, illicit and anonymous sex occurs publicly in the very buildings we call home.
A quick search through the personals section of Craigslist might reveal more of this world than readers care to know. The use of study rooms in Evans for sex is better known, but these activities spillover into every corner of the University. To truly realize the extent of what goes on behind closed doors, visit the men's bathroom on the second floor of the Academic Building.
A casual observer might never notice the walls separating the bathroom stalls across campus are made of incredibly hard material, largely stainless steel or some form of faux marble. But a few weeks ago, the walls of the aforementioned bathroom were replaced with thick plastic. In a shorter period of time a large 8" hole along with several smaller peep-holes have been cut and melted into the walls. As early as the eighties, anonymous public sex has been happening on campus, and a lot of it. Even older generations of Aggies know about the reports and rumors about various places on campus being used for public anonymous sex.
During an interview with a professor who wished to remain anonymous, the seriousness of these sexual exploits became obvious. The professor told a harrowing tales about one night in the late 80s, when he and his three young children were in the Academic building and went to use the restroom. Upon entering in the restroom he encountered several males openly performing various sex acts. Needless to say he was mortified. In fact, the older classroom doors that had grates in them making it very easy for one to bend wide enough to reach through and unlock the door for larger "engagements." Decades later, the glory hole carved into the second floor of the bathroom of the same building tells the same story.
Efforts to curb public cuckolding on campus seem to have been, at best, modestly successful. Online posts and personals provide countless chances for a homosexual encounter, and the details of even browsing these messages are too graphic to repeat or even believe. But since these sexual opportunities seem to attract largely the gay community, the situation begs the question: why Texas A&M? Our school is ranked the 8th most conservative school in America by the Princeton Review, and seems like an improbable location. To answer this question, I interviewed a poster of a similar craigslist.org advertisement.
The poster spoke only on the condition of anonymity, and so will be referred to as Mike. Mike is 26 years old and a life long resident of Bryan and he does not, nor ever did, attend any higher education. Mike responded to the question of why Texas A&M campus with several explanations. The main point was that College Station is the perfect distance between Dallas, Austin and Houston. As for the location, it would not seem odd to anyone to see people of all ages walking around campus all hours of the night.
Also, perhaps due to the aforementioned conservative tendency of the towns, there seems to be a larger number of homosexuals in the area than the general population realizes. Most have not come out yet and many have no intention of doing so. Mike added there is no fear that they will be caught, and because of that he is able to "meet up with" up to 15 new partners a semester. I concluded by asking Mike why this anonymous sex had to be on campus. Certainly there were more safe and sanitary places for men to enjoy each other's company than a bathroom. Mike told me that there was more thrill in using public facilities and that he has a "good thing going" with no intention of ever stopping.
There will always be people like Mike who take advantage of an open door policy, a larger question is where are the University Police who patrol campus 24 hours a day? Public sex has occurred long enough at A&M, and instead of simply fixing vandalized facilities, our fees and tuition should go towards stopping it. The University needs to put back those fancy non-permeable walls, and actually make their security employees do their job to protect the students, faculty, and staff from having to be subjected to these seedy and illegal sex acts.
Richard Creecy is a senior classical studies major and is special to the Battalion.
http://media.www.thebatt.com/media/storage/paper657/news/2009/12/08/Opinion/A.Hole.Different.World-3847440.shtml
