Though the new layout in Moulton's light room is not without its claustrophobic critics, it has provided an unexpected place for students to engage in unusual mealtime conversations.
I experienced the benefits of this new setup recently when I was discussing the nuances of being "sex-positive" with my dinner partner, and our unknown neighbor chimed in, allowing me to hear someone else's opinion on sexuality as well as giving me an opportunity to share the details of the concept.
For those who are unaware, sex-positive is a movement that advocates a celebration of sex and sexuality, free of the traditional social constraints projected onto it by mainstream society.
The sex-positive movement is about embracing the intimacy, or lack thereof, created when two—or more—consenting adults choose to engage in sex. Part of what the sex-positive movement tries to do is encourage individuals to speak freely about an array of sex-related topics, including sex education and safe sex.
The sex-positive movement represents an abrupt departure from how American society has traditionally viewed sex—as something to be discussed behind closed doors and with people you trust to be non-judgmental.
What's disturbing about this traditional conception of sexual discourse, however, is that it is so contingent on speaking freely about sex only with people you know and are comfortable with. And while there's nothing wrong with sharing one's views on sex and sexuality with friends, much is lost when such discourses are relegated to social spheres consisting of mostly like-minded individuals.
Expanding the groups of people we converse with provides us with an opportunity to see sexuality through another person's perspective and has the additional benefit of forcing us to examine how we personally view sex.
If we, as Bowdoin students, find ourselves too enlightened to believe that we subscribe to the same shame-infused attitudes about sex that our parents held, we must take an honest look at our sexual culture.
Much has been said about the hook-up culture at Bowdoin and indeed, it's difficult to argue that the majority of sexual experiences at Bowdoin are not one-nighters or occasional flings.
Yet why is it that these hook-ups pose such problems for our campus?
What's more, why is it that they are typically only drunken sexual encounters?
To the former question, a sex-positive mentality would recognize that our campus discourse on hooking up is typically juxtaposed with dating-oriented relationships.
In my four years at Bowdoin, I have rarely, if ever, heard a defense of the hook-up culture.
Instead, I've heard it characterized as either negative or something ambivalent.
Though we know hooking-up is common both at Bowdoin and outside of our bubble, a sense of shame permeates the air surrounding hooking-up that makes people consistently privilege relationships over hookups.
Of course it's obvious that for many people, relationships are what is ultimately desired and hookups are not nearly as satisfactory, yet they continue to happen.
However, instead of openly discussing (or even celebrating) hooking up, it is often the subject of eye-rolling gossip.
Perhaps if hooking up was more positively recognized, and therefore less stigmatized, many Bowdoin students wouldn't feel the need to use alcohol and the excuse of a social house party to satisfy what are perfectly natural and healthy sexual desires.
This column, however, is not intended to defend or attack hooking up. The whole point of the sex-positive movement is to recognize that one's personal views on sex are no more or less valid than another's, so long as they are mature and responsible.
Sex-positivism embraces the reality that each individual's sexual satisfaction is unique to that person; consenting adults should never feel shameful for pursuing sexual satisfaction.
My intention here is not to talk only about sex. I am first and foremost a political columnist and there are plenty of resources at Bowdoin to engage in a discourse about sex. However, sex and the sex-positive movement, however, have tremendous political implications.
One of the most revolutionary aspect of our generation is its willingness to embrace and celebrate diversity.
Our campus is filled with students who reject racism, misogyny, homophobia and the like—even if they themselves are part of the dominant class and culture.
We should then extend this open mentality to sexual topics, not in spite of the taboos surrounding the issue, but because of them.
Many of us do have sex, and the topic can be an enlightening opportunity for our community and our generation to become more comfortable with our bodies and sexualities.