Hookup hotspot: UA ranked No. 6 in national poll


By Danielle Rideau
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Tuesday, November 8, 2005

Based on a new survey conducted by a men's cologne company, UA students have one of the best college towns in the country for hooking up.

The results of the "Best College Towns for Hooking Up in America," study by Axe body spray and the Sperling's Best Places company, were released last week and Tucson ranks No. 6 because of its warm, sunny weather, percentage of singles, and number of venues like bars and coffee shops per capita.

The survey included a list of 33 criteria that foster a good place to hookup, according to a press release.

Top towns to hook up

1. Austin, Texas
2. San Diego
3. Los Angeles
4. Columbus, Ohio
5. Phoenix
6. Tucson
7. Syracuse, N.Y.
8. Boston
9. Raleigh/Durham, N.C.
10. Washington, D.C.

Some of the criteria include number of student hookup partners, male-to-female ratio and sexually transmitted disease rates compiled from information provided by organizations like the Census Bureau and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Sex and relationship writer Anna David, who was involved with the survey, said Tucson received third place for weather and fourth place for the number of 18- to 24-year-olds.

"Nice weather means there are a lot of people out and about wearing less clothes," David said.

In a supplemental survey conducted by Axe to define "hooking up," 40 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds said hooking up meant kissing; 30 percent said it meant intercourse.

David said students in this age group are starting to hook up more than in past generations because becoming intimate is taking the place of serious dating.

"We are a more open-minded culture," David said, "and we are getting more and more open-minded every year and hooking up more often than our parents' generation."

While the survey was meant to be light-hearted, some people feel that criteria that are common factors in student hookups were left out.

John Schorr, an undeclared freshman, said he thinks if the number of fraternities and parties had been included, the UA might rank higher.

"(Arizona State University) has frats but not as many frat parties as we do," Schorr said. "We would get more points than Phoenix for sure."

Phoenix, which houses ASU close by, ranked fifth in the nation for hookup-friendly campuses, according to the survey.

Adam Emelity, a veterinary science freshman, said he thinks Tucson should have been ranked higher than Phoenix because of his experience at parties here at UA as well as seeing attractive people on the campus.

"People get more play here than people in Phoenix," Emelity said. "And we have hotter girls."

Senior Associate Dean of Students Carol Thompson said she is unfamiliar with the survey, but had found in the Campus Climate surveys that students find the UA to be a "friendly campus and a great place to meet people and make friends."

Because she had not seen the survey and was unclear on what constitutes "hooking up," Thompson said she could not comment on how the survey represented the university.