Abstinance in the Ivy

Hat tip to Being! or Nothingness for this one.

"When it comes to sex, Princeton group advocates waiting" sayz Boston.com

A fellowship for Dianas admist the Venus-worshippers of today's Princeton! A generation of college students offers a witness to the mystery of sex--and the sacredness of sex within marriage. My heart rejoices! Others may not have to bear my scars.

Take a look:

About a year ago, the students formed a group promoting chastity and not having sex before marriage. While such groups are common in the South, the Anscombe Society is a first for the Ivy League, and it's taken on a decidedly intellectual bent in efforts to engage the student body.

The Princeton group is named after Elizabeth Anscombe, an English philosopher and staunch Roman Catholic who defended the church's teachings on sex, and died in 2001.

The Anscombe Society started about a year ago after Cassandra DeBenedetto, a 20-year-old Princeton student from Massachusetts, sent an e-mail to a few of her friends broaching the idea. The university officially recognized the organization last February, and it has about 150 people on its e-mail list.

People who want to take part in the society's activities don't have to sign a pledge or take an oath. Anscombe's leaders also note that students practicing chastity may have had sex in the past, but have made a decision not to have sex until marriage.

Anscombe members said they knew sex would be part of college life, but were surprised how prevalent it was.

"My freshman year ... it was really distressing to me to see my peers going out, getting drunk, and having random sex," said Clare Sully, 20, a senior originally from Princeton. "I hadn't yet come to the conclusion that sex was only for marriage ... (but) I was quite certain that sex was way too important to treat so casually."

Anscombe organizers said one of the main reasons the group was created was to let students who don't want to have premarital sex know they're not alone.

The group brings in speakers who talk about issues related to sex and chastity. A recent talk titled "Real Sex: The Truth About Chastity" drew about 120 people. An upcoming speaker from the University of Virginia will focus on the effects of the sexual revolution on family and children.

It's all very intellectual. After all, the organizers say, this is Princeton.

"Instead of just preaching, we're bringing in all these resources," said Jonathan Galeno, 19, of Gilmer, Texas. Slightly self-mockingly, he added: "In our Ivy League way ... we aim to include everything out there, be it through chemistry or biology or sociology."

The group is not affiliated with a particular religion or political ideology. Most of the group's organizers are Catholic and almost all vote Republican because many in the party oppose abortion. But others affiliated with the group are longtime Democrats, and a few are Jewish and from other religious denominations.

The savage irony of our sexually libertine times is that our constant indulgence of the One Thing that Matters deprives us of the very ecstacy we seek. Sex is ultimately a self-giving act of communion. This self-giving unites those that share in the self-giving, and may result in the procreation of new life, should the couple be open to it. As such, the intimacy of the partners determines the ecstacy of the act. How can one totally give themselves to a stranger or a casual aquaintence? How can one say they give themselves in love and not stand by that person in a life-long commitment. Believe me; I learned the hard way that such sentiments, while they feel good at the time, leave wreckage all across one's life.

These young people have the chance to truly give themselves to the ones they plan to love for life. God bless them! And may he send us more prophets such as they!