University of Chicago students created a system for organizing anonymous, attachment-free sexual encounters and one-night stands on campus several weeks ago with a website called UChicagoHookups.com. It’s similar to Craigslist.org’s Casual Encounters section. The site recently changed its name to EduHookups.com and was expanded to include students from Columbia and Northwestern University. Listings for DePaul University, Loyola University Chicago and others are set to open by April 4.

It’s not surprising that the site is growing so rapidly because many college students are sexual beings. They are going to have these kinds of hookups and one-night stands whether they meet at a party or connect online. If consenting adults want to use this service, that’s their business, but any students considering using the service should be safe about it. They should always tell someone where they’re going, only meet people in public places and always remember to use protection if they’re

sexually active.

A site like this can potentially be safer than using Craigslist because it is only open to people with college email addresses, rather than the entire Internet-using public. Despite that requirement, the site is open to exploitation by predators using hacked or stolen email accounts or who just happen to be college students. At least one listing was posted by an alumnus seeking a hookup with a U of C student, and there doesn’t seem to be a way to verify that users are actually students beyond registering with an “.edu” email address.

While students are free to set up anonymous trysts on the Internet if they so choose, there is something to be said for the development of basic social skills when it comes to meeting new people. Learning how to approach and talk to people is a crucial life skill students won’t learn through a hookup website.

That’s not to say all students should be looking for long-term relationships or there’s anything wrong with a casual fling, but basic human contact shouldn’t be sacrificed to make that happen. In a world where young people are becoming increasingly disconnected from one another through an overabundance of technology and social networking, the use of this site may not be the best idea. Many people today talk more with their friends online than in person. Applying a similar faceless technological veil to something as intimate and personal as sex seems like a step in the wrong direction.