By Jessica Gross Our parents (well, most of them) did the dinner-and-a-movie thing, but our generation has pioneered the random hookup. This February, we thought we’d take some time before Valentine’s Day to investigate exactly what goes on when the lights go out at campuses across the country. What’s the college dating scene really like? And where are the best secret make-out spots on campus? College students give you the scoop, from the benefits of a high girl-to-guy ratio to the dangers of dormcest to why it’s a bad idea to spend Valentine’s Day at a nursing home. Alex Rossin reveals what goes down in SUNY Purchase’s laundry rooms, and says the library is a popular hookup spot from top (the roof) to bottom (the “cages” downstairs). Abbie Mitchell interviews Bowdoin College students, who tell us about “the boom-boom room,” where “it doesn’t have to count if you don’t want it to.” Where will the “Stairway to Nowhere” get you? The University of Illinois Springfield’s Karen Nickerson tells all. One student receives an edible thumb for Valentine’s Day at Pitzer College, where “casual, random sex is pretty much the norm,” by Janet Alexander A Valentine’s Day low point at the University of Missouri-Columbia: hiding in the bathroom to avoid unwanted advances, by Rebecca May Making out in the chapel, the dating scene, and a Valentine’s Day gone wrong at the University of Georgia, by Staci Dale What is Valentine’s Day like at the University of Pittsburgh in the wake of Super Bowl XLIII? by Adam Peniazek Notre Dame students’ weirdest Valentine’s Day gifts, from cases of Natty Light to playing cards adorned with pictures of male strippers, by Amanda Schreiber The best make-out spot at Colgate University is accessible only by elevator, and the dating scene is “one big boom-boom room,” by Catherine Archer Penn State University students don’t just study in the stacks, by Brittany Trott One Texas State University-San Marcos student says pregnancy is the worst Valentine’s Day gift you can get, by Dalida Umuhire At Villanova University, what better place to make out than under a huge willow tree? by Lauren Piro A two-to-three male-female ratio at the University of Illinois at Springfield is great for guys, and underwear is a popular Valentine’s Day gift, by Karen Nickerson The dating scene at the University of North Carolina ranges from coupley to raunchy, but one word of advice: if you make out in a study room, make sure there aren’t huge windows. On Valentine’s Day, one student explains why it’s awkward to visit a nursing home on a date, and another remembers a not-so-cheery cafeteria experience, by Megan Gill Which department gets the most action at the School of Visual Arts? by Michael McIntosh One Princeton University student suggests a dinosaur exhibit as a hot and steamy make-out spot, by Mackenzie Luzzi From the sweet gifts (a home-cooked dinner) to the raunchy ones (a G-string—for a man) at the University of Arizona, by Erin Sperling Students vent about Valentine’s Day at Florida State University, by Ashley Ross The pluses and minuses of dormcest and why dating someone on your hall isn’t so hot in the long run, plus the dating scene and a Valentine’s Day mishap at the University of California, Santa Barbara, by Holly Mishcut What’s the dating scene like at all-female Georgian Court University? by Flicia Compian Strange Valentine’s Day gifts at Franklin and Marshall College, by Alex Gao