By: Victoria Miranda
Public displays of affection are very common with couples at the college age, however some people find these displays of affection to be offense or obnoxious while others find it cute and romantic. There was a recent incident on a college campus in Shanghai, China having to do with PDA in their dinning hall. Two students at the Jilin University of Architecture were criticized for feeding one another food in the dining hall. Administrators at the university saw this as excessive public displays of affection, according to an NBC News report.
The incident led to a new code of conduct about PDA on campus. The list of what administrators considered to be unacceptable public displays affection included cuddling, kissing, hand holding and students feeding each other with spoons, chopsticks or other utensils. The new rules on PDA brought a lot of questions and controversy to the campus. According to NBC News, an administrator at the university confirmed that the new conduct code was passed out to students last Wednesday and quickly spread online. Responses from the new rules on PDA varied. Some students thought the conduct code was a hoax, others condemned administration for the new rules protecting the mental well-being of single students. The timing of the new rules had some people questioning if this conduct code was made because “Singles Day”, November 11, was upon them.
Clearly there were mixed feelings about the new rules on PDA on the Jilin University of Architecture campus, so I thought it would be interesting to get the thoughts of students on the Assumption College campus about PDA in general and the new rules in place on the Jilin University campus.
A small survey we conducted showed about 70% respondents at Assumption College do not see much PDA around campus. When asked how they felt about when they do see people who display affection publicly many responded that it didn’t bother them unless it was obnoxious, such as people making out with one another. The majority of the survey takers said that they think holding hands and a kiss is acceptable, but it becomes too much when people are aggressive about it.
Assumption College PDA Survey: Thoughts on Public Displays of Affection
When asked about her thoughts on the new conduct code at Jilin University about the ban on public displays of affection, senior Emily Santoro says, “I don’t think there should be any laws or serious bans on PDA. I think it should just be more known as common courtesy. Anything you wouldn’t do in front of your grandparents I don’t think you should do in public. There is a difference from being cute and holding hands compared to making out in public. I think there is a fine line that couples need to be more aware of crossing but I think banning PDA is a little over the top.”
The survey showed that 99% of the people do not think that there should be a rule banning or limiting public displays of affection. One response specifically said, “No we’re in college and I think that people should know what is appropriate and not appropriate. If they don’t know what’s appropriate, they don’t need to be punished for it, they’re just making people uncomfortable.”
PDA can make people feel uncomfortable but it is not something that is hurting people and not something that is causing problems for people in the world. Administrators at Jilin University feel strongly about banning PDA on their campus, but other places such as Assumption College feel differently about the topic. There are far worse things happening in the world than PDA and it is not something that people need to worry about causing problems in communities.
To View the Article about the incident at Jilin University click here: China Bans Amorous Feeding, Excessive PDA
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