<p>I've repeatedly heard that Oberlin has a terrible dating scene. Is this true? If so, why?</p>
<p>Well, it can depend on your definition of "dating". But from my experience Oberlin tends to live in an extreme where people either engage in "one-night stands" so to speak or are basically married/joined at the hip. There is a middle ground of "serial monogamy" (as one of my friends put it - probably closer to "dating") but it seems to be less common than the other two.</p>
<p>I don't have any insight into why this might be the case, but Oberlin does seem to have an exceptional track record for pairing Obies with each other (I heard something like well over 50% of Obies end up marrying each other).</p>
<p>50%? That's unbelievable.</p>
<p>Yeah, it's a gross exaggeration.</p>
<p>Well, colleges in general are iffy for traditional dating, in which dating means, "we meet, we hold hands, we watch movies, I walk her home, we kiss on the cheek." That doesn't really happen so much when you all live together. I don't think Oberlin is unique in that respect.</p>
<p>Special things:
Size-
Also, because of Oberlin's size, significant others or hook-ups aren't disposable. Everyone doesn't know everyone else, but there's about 2-3 degrees of separation between everyone else. You'll see that sexy one-night-stander every once in a while... it makes random hook-ups less attractive. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I think it's good that you should give a damn about someone before you start kissing them. </p>
<p>Gay-
Yes, we have a gay population. No, everyone at Oberlin isn't gay, but if you're gay, you can get a date. If you're straight, you can also get a date.</p>
<p>Gender
We don't have frats, sororities or any sort of jock culture, which cuts down on machismo and women taking on weaker roles. Most of the relationships I see around me are good ones- people on equal playing fields who really care about each other. </p>
<p>Overall
As compared to other colleges, I think dating is actually easier at Oberlin because people are a little bit more at ease with their bodies. Especially fencers, if I'm to take your sn as an indicator. The two biggest parties on campus (which are school-sponsored) are Safer Sex Night and Drag Ball, which are both about being comfortable with yourself and your sexuality and then dancing for a kazillion hours.</p>
<p>Personally, I haven't had trouble getting a date. If you're looking, it isn't too hard to find someone.</p>