By Anna Aphrodesia

Although young men no longer give women their pins or varsity jackets and the phrase “going steady” has become outdated, the simple act of holding hands is one display of affection that has not been tainted by time.

Hand-holding, one of the least nauseating public displays of affection (PDA), may even be more intimate than kissing in public.

While holding hands, a couple is engaging in constant physical contact with each other. Through hand-holding, the couple not only expresses their commitment to each other, but for everyone to see. With kissing, the moment is brief.

“Hand-holding is more intimate because if you’re kissing, you’re excluding those around you,” says Elena Offerman, a junior drama major. “If you’re holding hands, you’re involving other people because you are not closing yourself out.”

While most college students agree that holding hands implies intimacy, some professors question the level of intimacy between college students.

“Consider hand-holding [among college students] in context,” says sociology professor Amy Armenia. “College-aged people are not thinking about marriage or serious relationships. There is a lot of sexual experimentation and hooking up going on. Hand holding says we’re together and not with anybody else. It is a way of declaring commitment and more of a physical gesture than an act of intimacy.”

Regardless of what they believe hand-holding signifies, many students around the University participate in this act daily. Walking around campus, one is bound to see at least three couples holding hands.

In a survey taken by couples on campus, 12 out of 15 couples said that they regularly held hands.

“I think it’s more [intimate] because we feel close when we hold hands,” says Jacqueline Aiello, a sophomore who has been in a relationship for the past five months. “It’s about the connection.”

For the couples that said they did not hold hands, it was usually because of contrasting views regarding hand-holding.

“We don’t hold hands,” says Patricia Kreiser, a freshman who has been in a relationship for the past three months. “He hates it [holding hands]. I love it. He feels ‘restrained’ from free movement or whatever.”

Although Armenia views hand-holding among college couples as more of a physical gesture, she also sees it as a means to elevate status within a social group. Many couples will use a relationship to validate themselves.

“If you are a heterosexual among other heterosexual people, you may use PDA to get status,” Armenia said.

Regardless of the reason, hand-holding among couples is a small gesture that says so much.

Hand-holding may be used to elevate status within a social group, says Amy Armenia, sociology professor.