It’s another lazy Sunday, and my three roommates and I are sitting around hungover, noshing on Cheez-Its, recounting the events of the previous night while watching syndicated episodes of “Sex and the City.” Charlotte, Carrie, Samantha and Miranda seem to have picturesque lives: successful jobs, great wardrobes, endless nights of cocktails at swanky clubs and men falling into their arms (or bed) within every 30-minute time slot.

Meghan Webber

Thing is, “Sex and the City” has been one of the greatest influences for what my generation qualifies as ‘normal dating.’ The foursome confirmed it was OK to have emotionless sexual trysts, nice guys truly do finish last and everything can be resolved by a brand new pair of Manolo Blahniks.

But, none of those lessons align with what my mother hammered into me as a teenager. What ever happened to modest, self-respecting young women?

Here at the University, we don’t read Carrie Bradshaw’s weekly column. Instead, we spend an absurd amount of time scanning tweets from SingleBecause, WhiteGirlProblem or TotalFratMove — all of which champion a promiscuous lifestyle. From shacking to partying, these accounts argue rather convincingly that chivalry is dead. And what’s worse, the University’s dating scene isn’t much different.

The ratio of males to females at the University is 38 to 62, respectively. So, naturally, boys have the upper hand when it comes to selection of girls. Swarms of females, myself often included, traipse downtown in newly bought clothes all in hopes to find someone that will “make college worthwhile.” It is ridiculously backwards.

Obviously not all men are drunk, sexually charged beings looking for a “slampiece.” In my four years, I have met a bevy of fantastic men who have taken me out on genuinely great dates and initiated meaningful conversation. But within that bottle of specially selected champagne bubbles similar sexual expectations, and as I return home I continually wonder: when did the rules of traditional dating get discarded? Men are not solely to blame though. We as young twenty-something women have accepted this as the norm and have bought directly into it. We are attracted to the disinterested and self-absorbed “bros,” and frequently write off the few good men as creepy and overenthusiastic when all they did was send flowers after a wonderful date. No one confirmed that more poignantly than when Carrie married Big, even after he abandoned her on their wedding day.

As I transition into adulthood and cross the threshold into true responsibility next year, I only hope that the game of dating will shift alongside it. College has certainly not prepared me for any type of successful, let alone healthy, relationship, and accompanying my two degrees I’ll leave confused about the dynamic between the sexes.

I hope though that the madness of college dating will slowly subside in the real world. But will my generation ever overcome the warped lifestyle that neatly garnished a frosted, pink Cosmopolitan?

— Meghan Webber is a senior from Cumming majoring in publication management and art history