Write a thesis driven essay on some aspect of Coming of Age in New Jersey

Running Head : Coming of Age in New Jersey

Thesis

While most middle aged youth still fantasize about engaging in intense sexual acts upon joining college or university , the actual reality is that very limited sexual experiences actually take place in those dormitories as attested by Michael Moffat chapter 5 of his book `COMING OF AGE IN NEW JERSEY

Introduction

Just about everyone these days seems concerned about the state of higher education in America . Why doesn 't America produce more scientists and engineers ? Whatever happened to the Great Books ? Why

are college students so . self-absorbed ? What , in short , is going on our nation 's campuses

Anthropologists have written enough materials in an effort to demystify this matter as the large volumes of academic treatises ' seem to suggest However , Michael Moffat in his book , `COMING OF AGE IN NEW JERSEY ' seems to convey a deeper understanding of the workings of the student mind Indeed , Mr . Moffat sheds light on the otherwise hidden aspect of college life by taking a more personal approach in eavesdropping into students activities in dormitories . This happened in two occasions in 1977 and 1984 at Rutgers dormitory while he was a young instructor of anthropology at Rutgers University

In chapter 5 , Mr . Moffat reveals to us student mentalities about sex as he makes an attempt to help us grasp their priorities as they understand them . Many middle aged youth still believe in sexual freedom to be one that is devoid of any serious relationship strings . In fact many tend to believe that college campuses are Mecca 's of free love and sexual promiscuity . Sam Sloan , of the sexual freedom movement attests that he held 42 sex parties over a period of more than a year , from September 1966 until December , 1967 . Altogether , around 1200 people attended my sex orgies ' [See , his website HYPERLINK "http /www .samsloan .com www .samsloan .com ]

Mr . Moffat 's forays reveal that this fantasy is due to the restraining pressures that youth were imposed upon in there early life before joining college or university , presumably by there parents and guardians . However in those dormitories , another restraining pressure exists . This time it 's not the in loco parentis role that has been long abandoned by college administrators , but a metamorphosized version of it . He claims that in today 's ' dormitories , students have internalized this in loco parentis role and they project its effective results in various ways . The most effective one he mentions is what he terms as `gossipy peer-group controls ' practiced at sorority level . One sophomore student 's account states that , .morality played a large role in my chapter 's pledge program . This was due to the fact that my chapter was attempting to change its image after a sister had been a willing participant in a gang Bang ' incident with a fraternity . Consequently we as pledges were under the watchful eye of our elder and seemingly much wider sisters

Mr . Moffat continues to state that the predominant desire that enabled...