University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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could only see you now: r marijuana ordinance was repealed last sum- mer by the Stephenson regime, the threat of arrest is still minimal. If someone wanted to make a good invest- ment in Ann Arbor, they should get a liquor license and build another bar. The Village Bell, probably the number one bar on campus, is frequently forced to turn away patrons. It seems local merchants have still been unable to catch up to the demand for places to drink and dance created by the lowering of the drinking age in Michigan. Many a student has driven all the way to Bimbos in Ypsilanti in search of a good time. In the area of sexual habits on campus, things are generally agreed to be getting freer over the last twenty years. But it would probably be found that campus sexual behavior is not as far ahead of national norms for unmarried young adults as one would think. Twenty-five years ago Dr. Alfred Kinsey published his famous survey of American sexual habits. In 1973 the Playboy foundation sponsored a similar survey conducted by Morton Hunt, aimed at determining how much customs had changed in those 25 years. Among the findings relevant to the Univer- sity age group were these: In Kinsey ' s study one third of the single women had inter- c ourse by the age of 25 years, in Morton ' s three quarters had. Morton found that of males with some college education more than half had premarital sex by the time they were seventeen, in Kinsey ' s survey only one quarter had. It was found that contact with prostitutes in the 18-24 year old group in 1973 was half as much as it was in 1948 survey. The variety of sexual practices had increased greatly over 25 years although homosexuality had remained fairly constant. Interestingly, many of the conclusions reached by Morton coincided with candid views of authorities on campus: Ira Reiss, a leading expert on sexual mores felt that attitudes expressed by college students on sex didn ' t necessarily agree with their actual practices. Morton ' s article concluded that sexually liberated single girls still feel liber- ated only within the context of affectionate or loving relationships. University authorities here agreed. While students do not feel sex for physical pleasure alone is not wrong, they are still inclined to search for relationships that go beyond that aspect commented one in a phone interview. So it seems that the major characteristic of the new sexual customs is a higher level of enlightenment combined with a greater readiness to experiment. But it seems that the ultimate goal of a physical combined with an emotional relationship has not changed. 75

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if mother The University of Michigan has a reputa- tion for being a liberal school. From this it would follow that attitudes towards such social customs as sexual behavior, drinking, and use of marijuana would be more liberal than other places. But it seems the consensus among well- informed individuals here that the customs at U of M aren ' t radically different than those of the society at large. In fact, one expert who wished to remain anonymous felt that the marijuana usage at Michigan was on the decline because of the increased acceptance of it in other levels of society. He felt that, whereas smoking dope was wide spread four years ago on campus, it was decreasing because of its loss of novelty. Four years ago the campus environ- ment was the only one where marijuana was abundant, now it seems to have penetrated all levels of the society, which has led to the lack of novelty for University students. Another aspect of this decrease may be the lowering of the drinking age in Michigan to 18 years of age. Although marijuana is becoming socially accepted, it still can not be done in public like alcohol can, although you can usually smell its pungent odor at con- certs, football games and movie theatres. Many false impressions are held outside Ann Arbor as to what amount of pot is smoked here. It probably would be safe to say that a large majority of the students have tried it, but fewer are regular or occa- sional users. There are no more social pres- sures to use it anymore than there is to grow long hair. It ' s up to the individual. Should one decide to use marijuana or any other drug, they should experience no trouble in obtaining some. Although the $5 . . . it seems that the major characteristic of the new sexual customs is a higher level of enlightenment combined with a greater readiness to experiment. (i me arr lief Be: cat Bii tin : thi ire no we Ar y 74

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the hassles 76