To most freshmen on college campuses, the idea of getting married is a far away thought. However, at Fairfield, marriage lingers through our minds when we step on campus. From Reverend Charles Allen’s welcome speech at Orientation to campus tours, students are often told there are a high percentage of marriages among Fairfield Alumni and Faculty and Staff.
According to Alumni Relations at Fairfield, 3,556 members of the Fairfield Alumni community have married another Stag. This number is out of 36,146 living undergraduate alum’s. This means that about 10% of Stags marry another Stag.
In 2013, Sofus Attila Macskássy conducted a study via Facebook to determine if college students still met their spouse at school. The study showed that 28% of students attended the same school as their spouse. He also discovered the more religious a school is, the higher the percentage will be. Fairfield is not considered as religious as a school like Brigham Young University is, however our Jesuit values and common core provide us with a strong sense of community. According to a study conducted by Brigham Young University, students at BYU appreciate connecting with a person on a deeper more spiritual level. Today, with the hook up culture being so predominate the idea of connecting with someone in a spiritual way is rare among college students. However, a Jesuit education provides us with the answer to the question ‘Who am I’.
Have you ever heard the marriage statistic around campus or on a campus tour? After surveying 60 students in Einstein’s and The Stag, I found that the marriage statistic is more familiar to underclassman rather than upperclassmen. Many upperclassmen have heard the percentage around campus but they weren’t as familiar with it.
The class of 2015 made it clear through their surveys that they were not as aware of the statistic as the underclassmen are. Although, Liz Sheerin ‘15 did tell me, “I heard at the Legacy event during Family and Alumni weekend that 60% of Fairfield Alumni marry other Fairfield Alumni”. Another senior, Matt DeCaprio told me “ I didn’t hear the percent when I toured Fairfield. But, I did hear it in a class freshman year”.
Although many of the seniors are unfamiliar with this statistic, as a fellow freshman it is often talked about during our first year. 16 juniors took the survey and 38% said that they heard the statistic when they toured Fairfield. Seamus Barrett ’16 said, “the marriage rate was a selling point for me to come here because it is an interesting quality of the university”.
Several of the juniors heard the statistic of marriages while touring Fairfield. Their answers ranged from 40-60%. Eight sophomores all agreed that they heard the percentage on a campus tour but the percents that they heard differed. Yet, the percents were still above 50%.
Everett Reed ’16 also said “ The marriage rate between Fairfield Alumni was a selling point for me to come here because its more reassuring that you will find someone so meaningful and be able to connect with people outside of school”. Overall, 100% of the freshman that were surveyed all agreed that the percents that they have heard all were above 50% and even ranged all the way to 80%.
The question is where are these percentages coming from? After surveying 60 people around Einstein’s and the Stag, their answers about the marriage rate statistic ranged from 40% to 80%. These percents are obviously coming from somewhere. The Office of Admissions denies that it is in their script to say anything about the marriage statistic. However, that does not mean that a tour guide cannot include his or her own personal touch. But, if they are going to give a percent, shouldn’t it at least be correct? Not only did Admissions deny that they never say the percent on tour but also Alumni Relations denies the statistic being higher than 50%.
When two Stags decide to marry, the Egan Chapel offers students the opportunity to get married by paying a small fee of $1,500. The bride and groom must make arrangements from one year, to a year-and-a-half in advance with the Chapel. Most weddings are performed during the summer months and some are performed during the fall season depending on events happening within the chapel.
Although there appears to be some controversy at Fairfield, a surprising number of seniors are in serious relationships dreaming and talking about marriage. Alas, there is hope of finding your future spouse here even though the percent remains lower than we have been told.
Sources:USA TODAY