Norman — Sexual activity (or lack there of) is one of the quickest ways we judge:

“You have sex on the first date? What a slut!”

“You wait until marriage to have sex? What a prude!”

But sexual intimacy is more complicated than that and students’ activities are a lot more diverse.

For your piece of mind, Sower conducted a poll trying to answer the question of all dating questions: “How many dates do you wait before having sex?”

The highest chosen responses where “Screw dating, I just hook up!” and the “Third date,” with 16 percent of votes for each response.

John Carter, a freshman from Oklahoma City, says he thinks having sex sooner rather than later is typical amongst college students.

“If a girl is hot, than I’ll be happy to have sex with her with no commitments,” Carter says. “But if I like her a lot, I let her set the pace and I go a lot slower. My friends do the same type of thing.”

Andrea Unrau, classics senior, says Sower’s poll responses sound reasonable.

“From what I hear, it seems like most people wait until about the third date.” However, Unrau, like 13 percent of voters, says, “It’s important to wait until marriage. That’s what it says in the Bible and waiting until marriage is a good way to know if you have a great guy.”

Lyndsey Jones, zoology and biomedical sciences senior and co-president of OU’s Sexpert program, believes that whether students have one-night stands, wait until marriage or do anything in between, they must feel comfortable with their sexual decisions and feel completely ready for intimacy.

“People also need to thoroughly communicate,” she says. “And they need to ensure safety by doing their best to protect themselves from both violence and STIs or unwanted pregnancies that can result from having sex.”

This is particularly true for students who have trouble communicating their wants and preferences.

While the poll represents the views of several OU students, it must be put into perspective. Just because a student goes on one, two or three dates with someone does not mean they have only met that person one, two or three times. And just because someone chooses to wait until marriage to have sex does not mean they have known or been dating their partner for six months or a year. So remember, the poll is relative and there is no correct answer to the question. How many dates to wait really just depends on when you feel ready to begin having sex.