2008 Woodie Awards
Editor's Column - Sucks to Be a Senior Girl
Lauren Mendell
Issue date: 10/25/07 Section: Commentary
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If I died today, I would like to come back as a senior boy at Colgate. I know this statement sounds odd, but let me explain. As far as the dating world is concerned, or lack thereof, senior boys are definitely making hay while the sun shines.
Until I was a senior, I never felt claustrophobic at Colgate. I went to an extremely small, single-sex high school in New York City with a graduating class of 39 girls. Colgate's student body of 2,800 seemed pretty impressive to me, not to mention that I had never seen so many eligible boys in my life. Colgate was a shrine to attractive, young, energetic, J.Crew-sporting bachelors. Oh, the good ole' freshman days where everything, and everyone, were possibilities.
Now, as a senior, I realize that it is pretty much slim pickings. It is almost as if we have used up all of our resources in the dating pool. If you have not personally had intimate relations with a fellow male classmate, then one of your friends has and it is too small of a school to burn those kinds of bridges. In my experience, boys are more willing to share. What is a senior girl to do?
Many friends of mine have opted for "cradle-robbing," which essentially means dating someone from a grade or two (or three!) below. This looks like a feasible solution; the girl probably feels more respected by a younger guy while the guy can live out his Mrs. Robinson fantasy. On the other hand, some girls say that they would never be able to date someone from a lower grade because they seem to be at different places in life with different mentalities. My question is, how much difference does a year make? My step-grandmother was twenty years younger than my grandfather. That means that she was born when my grandfather was a sophomore in college. Talk about an age gap! Can the maturity level really change that much in a year among college students?
Other friends have chosen to date outside of Colgate and try to maintain a long distance relationship, usually with someone older. For some it seems to work. These girls work hard during the week and enjoy the company of their friends but come Friday afternoon, they are off to visit their significant other. Personally, I have tried this tactic thinking that an older man might fulfill my 'knight in shining armor' fantasy, but unfortunately, this was not the case. I found that the longer a man is out of college, the more immature and needy he really is.
Until I was a senior, I never felt claustrophobic at Colgate. I went to an extremely small, single-sex high school in New York City with a graduating class of 39 girls. Colgate's student body of 2,800 seemed pretty impressive to me, not to mention that I had never seen so many eligible boys in my life. Colgate was a shrine to attractive, young, energetic, J.Crew-sporting bachelors. Oh, the good ole' freshman days where everything, and everyone, were possibilities.
Now, as a senior, I realize that it is pretty much slim pickings. It is almost as if we have used up all of our resources in the dating pool. If you have not personally had intimate relations with a fellow male classmate, then one of your friends has and it is too small of a school to burn those kinds of bridges. In my experience, boys are more willing to share. What is a senior girl to do?
Many friends of mine have opted for "cradle-robbing," which essentially means dating someone from a grade or two (or three!) below. This looks like a feasible solution; the girl probably feels more respected by a younger guy while the guy can live out his Mrs. Robinson fantasy. On the other hand, some girls say that they would never be able to date someone from a lower grade because they seem to be at different places in life with different mentalities. My question is, how much difference does a year make? My step-grandmother was twenty years younger than my grandfather. That means that she was born when my grandfather was a sophomore in college. Talk about an age gap! Can the maturity level really change that much in a year among college students?
Other friends have chosen to date outside of Colgate and try to maintain a long distance relationship, usually with someone older. For some it seems to work. These girls work hard during the week and enjoy the company of their friends but come Friday afternoon, they are off to visit their significant other. Personally, I have tried this tactic thinking that an older man might fulfill my 'knight in shining armor' fantasy, but unfortunately, this was not the case. I found that the longer a man is out of college, the more immature and needy he really is.
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