To kiss and tell

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat Scott Andrew Schulz

Nothing could be better, for now, as you leave the stresses of life behind. As the hours progress you completely lose touch with reality and it feels absolutely incredible. An undisclosed number of drinks later, you soon notice that about everyone on the premises is looking pretty attractive and even more importantly, you are feeling extremely appealing yourself.

At this point you are able to convince one of your fellow party-goers that procreation is at the core of life's inner spiritual meaning, forgetting your significant other who stayed in doing homework.

Jump ahead 10 to 15 minutes, or until one of you passes out, and the deed is done. "What happened? Did we do what I think we did? Do I tell or not? Is it really cheating?" To numerous academic scholars in pursuit of their degrees across the country, it is just another weekend.

To what degree is drinking a part of the college atmosphere? The latest set of statistics from the Journal of American College Health, as recently published in the Wildcat, determined that 42.7 percent of students are considered "binge drinkers," meaning men consumed five or more drinks in a row and women four or more. An even higher number, 52 percent of students, guzzled alcohol with the intent of getting drunk. Thus, there is no question that drinking is an established ordinary of college life.

And where there is drinking, there is often sex. According to studies done on the UA campus by the Campus Health Center, 57 percent of students consider themselves "sexually active" and an even higher 71 percent have engaged in sexual intercourse within the past year. Of those "sexually active" students, 20 percent drank alcohol the last time they had sex. A notable 36 percent of students claimed that they drank prior to their "worst sexual experience."

This demonstrates that a fairly significant slice of the student population is familiar with the effects of the consumption of alcohol on their sexual health, and these effects have obviously not always been positive.

In addition, there is evidence that supports the existence of promiscuous behavior. The latest survey reported that 46 percent of those "sexually active" students have had three or more partners, 23 percent reported six or more. When you consider the size of the UA population, this translates to nearly 4,600 people having six or more partners in their very young lifetimes.

So there is substantial evidence to show that alcohol and sex are very much associated with life on this and other college campuses, and, as such, questions in regard to the effects on student relationships beg to be addressed.

For example, views on whether or not sexual intercourse under the influence is considered cheating appear to be much more important than you might have originally thought. These problems, in actuality, do exist.

On one hand it can be argued that such action is completely accidental.

"It meant nothing and should therefore simply be left alone and forgotten. No one needs to know, I still love my boyfriend or girlfriend as I always have. It would only cause unnecessary pain for the both of us if I confessed my accidental encounter."

However, do you actually have the right to make such a decision? If you believe you do, can you really classify your relationship as meaningful? Relationships are built around the principles of trust and honesty. If you can cheat or "make mistakes" and the person you love forgives you, then, regardless of whether or not you deserve such understanding, you have held up the principles of a true relationship and will reap the benefits that association entails.

But deciding the truth for someone is simply wrong. Likewise, failure to disclose the actual details of your life for the sake of keeping your relationship intact means that you have a relationship where trust and honesty are anything but central components.

Needless to say, a relationship without these key essentials is unfortunately not a relationship worth keeping.

Cheating is cheating and throwing drinking onto the list of excuses does not make it any different.

When you choose to drink you are making the decision to lose control and be, most often, different from who you are in your normal state. Although engaging in a sexual act while under the influence might be accidental, it still ultimately translates to cheating. This is the risk you take.

Campus life is full of excitement, challenges, and numerous learning experiences. In an ideal setting, people would understand the meanings of love and relationships without having to shatter the hearts of those around them in the process of growing up.

Scott Andrew Schulz is a communication junior and can be reached at Scott.Andrew.Schulz@wildcat.arizona.edu. His column, Millstone, appears every Wednesday.