Dating up a storm at BYU

PROVO — Students at Brigham Young University are dating more than young

men and women at other colleges but are also refraining from sex,

according to a study.

There is, however, a whole lot of kissing going on at BYU, said

students interviewed in the Cougar Eat in the Wilkinson Student Center.

"There are people making out all the time in the dorm lobby," said

Alayna Angelos, 19, of Boca Raton, Fla., a freshman majoring in

communications.

BYU students have as many dates in a month as do women in four years at

a mainstream college, says now-retired BYU professor Bruce Chadwick. He

taught sociology at the university for 35 years and did a survey on

dating and marriage at BYU.

According to a national study previous to Chadwick's survey, students

at other colleges have pretty much ceased dating and are simply hanging

out and "hooking up," which can be anything from kissing to having sex

— all with no commitment.

At BYU, students hang out but opt for a "NCMO session" as opposed to a

"hook-up." NCMO stands for "non-committal make-out" and is simply

kissing someone, then saying adios, students say.

"It's a church member's way of doing a 'one-night stand,"' said Andre

Abamonte, 21, of Atlanta, Ga., a sophomore majoring in psychology. He

added he has never personally participated in a NCMO.

Chrissy Barnes, 20, of Spokane, Wash., a senior majoring in political

science, said most people she knows at BYU have done a NCMO at least