Share:

If you’re looking for some action in one of the men’s restrooms on campus, it’s as easy as tapping your foot. At-least that’s what one website instructs its subscribers to do.

An individual can find countless telephone numbers and instructions written on restroom stalls about what to do if he wishes to engage in sexual activities. In a stall located in the third floor men’s restroom in the C Building, instructions read “Tap 4 Action.” By tapping your foot, it notifies the person in a neighboring stall that you’re looking for action and would like to “hook-up.”

Campus police officer Alan Chan said, “We get calls about something going on in a particular stall, but by the time we get there, they are gone.”

Chan says that the second and third floor men’s restrooms in the C Building are generally the hotbed for casual sex. “I can guarantee you there’s a website out there that probably lists that building and that restroom regarding that activity,” Chan said.

The Courier was able to confirm that indeed there is a website that lists locations to go on campus if one desires to engage in casual sex. At www.squirt.org, a mostly gay men site for cruising and sexual hook-ups, a person can find not just the third floor men’s restroom in the C Building listed but also the men’s locker room in PCC’s Aquatic Center. The site has plenty of instructions, pictures and lists detailing the best stalls to use and best times to go.

“On the third floor of the C Building, that’s where all the fun happens,” according to the website. In referencing PCC’s Aquatic Center, the website instructs its subscribers to; “Enter and choose a row, the further left of the door the better. Campus police check every now and then, if questioned just say you’re showering after PE class,” the site said.

Other local colleges are also mentioned on this site, East Los Angeles College, Santa Monica College and UCLA just to name a few. PCC alone has had over 40,000 hits.

ELAC Officer Hector Runao said: “[These issues] happen more then they should, but when they do happen, we tell them to go someplace else and remind them that they can’t do this on campus.”

Santa Monica College also has similar issues of lewd conduct on their campus. Sgt. Ray Bottenfield said; “We’ve had some issues occasionally and depending on the circumstances the individuals involved might face felony charges,” he said.

“I‘ve heard that the men’s restroom on the third floor of the C Building and the men’s gymnasium restroom are popular places for people to hook-up, especially at night,” said Daniel Smith, chemical engineering. “But I tend to just laugh all this off, and I must admit I do enjoy reading the witty poetry people write on the stalls.”

Sarah Flores, facilities services supervisor, could not confirm if sheet metal was used to cover-up holes made by individuals who peer into neighboring stalls.

Figures from facilities services regarding the cost to repair damage to the restrooms were not readily available, according to Flores. “But we do get calls often, sometimes daily, regarding vandalism and graffiti,” she said.

In trying to gauge some of the causes for these restroom rendezvous, PCC psychology intern Stephanie Haibloom said: “Individuals involved seem to be engaging in poor impulse control. They can’t wait to have an intimate relationship with another person; they just want instant gratification with random strangers.”

Also these people are not thinking about sexually transmitted diseases, Haibloom said. “Possibly because of the age of the student; they may not even think about STDs or AIDS because young people still think they’re invincible. [They think] that wont happen to me, that will happen to the other guy,” she said.

Most of the hook-ups involve men in men’s restrooms and men’s locker rooms. “The only times we have issues with women’s restrooms is if a male like a boyfriend walks into the women’s restroom. But, not so much two females inside a stall,” said Chan.

As to what type of people have problems containing their sexual impulses. “I don’t think there’s a particular personality type that would be more prone to this kind of high-risk behavior than any other personality type,” said counseling psychologist Dr. Richard Beyer.

In the cases involving men sometimes individuals might be struggling with their own sexuality issues, John Helmer PCC psychology intern, said.

“Because they aren’t able to accept their own sexuality or because they get messages from society or from the people around them that it’s wrong to have those kind of [homosexual] impulses, that may tend to push them underground to hook-up with people where no names are exchanged and no one would know,” said Helmer.

Chan emphasized that it’s a misdemeanor for any person who solicits anyone to engage or who engages in lewd conduct in a public place. “[If found guilty] it will be up to the discretion of the court whether that individual has to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life,” he said.

There may also be some administrative consequences such as suspension or expulsion said Chan.

“Historically when homosexuality was criminalized, the gay community didn’t have places to meet people except in [public] restrooms. But, now having sex in stalls seems to have been a hold over from that period,” said Simon Fraser, Associated Students President.

“We criminalize the gay community for this behavior a lot more than we do the straight community,” said Fraser. “You look at the history of arrests, the history of prosecutions, you will find that the gay community is much more targeted by police sting operations than the straight community is.”

One might say it’s a rite-of-passage for Peggy Sue and Jimmy to be engaging in inappropriate conduct in the back seat of a 57 Chevy down by the lake, said Fraser. “But, it’s a double standard if two men are engaging in the same conduct,” he said.

“Because these types of prosecutions ruin lives, if you’re going to apply the law apply it evenly. Don’t discriminate in your application of the law,” he added.

Beyer said help is available in psychological services. “They have to want to be able to change. We can help them be more responsible in their sexual activities,” said Beyer. “But, they have to ask for the help.”

 

Follow: