The party had intensified around me as I talked with a few students, all seniors, who were thinking about their options: grad school, work, peace corps. They had all been in one of my discussion sections and now in a few short days they would be graduating. In my fourth year as a grad student at a major research university, and as a Teaching Assistant, I get to know a lot of the students very well. After all, I’m only about six or seven years older than them.
We were standing in the large living room (and currently dance floor) of a stately old mansion, the kind seen in many university towns, that had been partially remodeled for about 10-12 students. For many years the house had a tradition of being the residence of rather intelligent female students who were in their last few semesters and were already twenty-one. The parties, which happened maybe twice a year, were famous for being a venue for the intellectual-type students to hook up for the night or for a while. There was also a rumor that these parties were intended to provide some of the graduating residents the opportunity to bed their favorite grad student TA and sometimes even a professor. (more…)
