Issue date: 2/14/07 Section: Feature

Chastity no longer has the same religious meaning that it used to. The need to be chaste now changes with the situation or the type of people you are talking about, according to students.

One of the seven contrary virtues to the deadly sins, chastity is "abstaining from illicit sexual acts or thought," according to The American Heritage Dictionary. What students do agree on is that you don't see chastity very often.

"Well I think right now it's pretty uncommon and also it's what The Bible says to do," said junior Ally Maloney, an Integrated Language Arts major. "I think now more people just give it away."

The need for chastity could depend on the relationship. "If you're, I guess involved with someone seriously, that's not a big deal, but as far as just foolin' around and just gettin' it wherever, I don't think that's a real good thing," said junior Jesse Schnitzler, an exercise biology major.

Chastity can depend on personality. "To some extent, some people should be, who are typically horny men, but I think some people tend to be a little bit too closed off and people need to relax and some people need to calm down a bit. I don't think necessarily chaste, but not so uptight," said junior Ashley Kesler, a geology and biology major.

Or, maybe lust shouldn't be restrained. "I think you should, within reason, give in to animal urges. As long as it's not dangerous. I know nowadays you have to watch out for stuff, as long as it's consensual, and it's something that both of you want to do, then why not have the experience? And why not give into that carnal lust?" said freshman Megan Barnes, a social sciences education major.

Being chaste can be more difficult than giving into lust. "It might cause you to have to face your problems as they come up instead of hiding behind different excessive behavior, but that's really hard to do. Also, it means that you would have to go against kind of the popular culture which is out there which says that it's okay to indulge yourself in various things. So you would kind of have to go against peer pressure that might be there, or media pressure," said psychologist Jeanene Robinson, of Counseling and Wellness.

"Chastity is just something to hold on to. It's hard to hold on to these days. At least I think lust is sometimes more honest 'cause when people just say 'I'm doing it for my own, you know, I'm not in it for love,' I guess it's a more honest approach, but it doesn't make it right," said junior Anne Refermat, a mass communications major.

People who might realize they have an excessive behavior problem can do something if they want.

"I guess the first thing is just to become aware of what they're doing, the excess. That's the biggest step, just becoming aware of what the problem is. Then, maybe the second thing is to become aware of why they're doing what they're doing.

"Is it because they're trying to avoid a problem? And if so, what is the problem? Is it because they're trying to feel something inside of them? A sort of emptiness that can be filled in a better way, a more healthy way. Then third, go about trying to solve that problem, and solving that problem, a lot of times, can't be done on their own. It's good to get support wherever," said Robinson.

Based on the research of Dr. Corey Miller, associate professor of psychology, 18 percent of students are virgins and other students overrate how much sex, drugs and alcohol their peers are having.

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