Start with equal parts of females and males living together. Add hormones and a dash of alcohol. Let simmer. What happens? Sponcest.

In the first few months of freshman year, it is almost inevitable that someone you know will hook up with someone in his or her sponsor group. Maybe it is your best friend, that kid in chem lab, or even that really sketchy guy down the hall. It could even be you. As one freshman said, "It’s inevitable with alcoholics and those who partake in substances."

This same freshman, when pressed, also confessed to having an unrequited crush on a guy in her sponsor group. As of press time, this crush had not yet turned into a full-blown case of sponcest. But, as our freshman informant said, the possibility is certainly there. She would still be attracted to him even if they were not part of the same sponsor group. The fact that they live together, go to meals together, and even see each other in the bathroom "only makes it more intense." She has not given much thought to the aftershocks of a future hook-up, because she has been, for the most part, "concentrating on getting his ass." Hopefully, they could remain friends and avoid any repercussions, but as she said, "I don’t really care right now because he is just so hot."

One sophomore reported that within her sponsor group of 14 people last year, there were six cases of sponcest. "I myself partook in sponcest, not once, but twice," she said. In both cases the hook-up took place within the first few months of freshman year, and clearly, alcohol was involved. One guy, as it turned out, just really enjoyed random hook-ups. Luckily for the sophomore, there was no residual awkwardness or sexual tension. Overall though, she doesn’t feel that sponcest is a big deal. According to her, whether or not sponcest occurs in a particular sponsor group depends completely on the social dynamics and on each individual’s personal history. She also felt that, though sponcest is not inevitable, it is a very common experience:

"With sponsor groups, you get to know people really well, and then it feels natural that you’re supposed to like them. When you don’t know as many people, the ones nearest to you are the easiest to hook up with," she said.

The evidence is everywhere. In Regan Douglass ‘02’s sponsor group of 18, there were about 12 cases of sponcest. Some cases evolved into long-term relationships, but others were left feeling angry or uncomfortable. As in the other cases, most of these hook-ups occurred within the first few months of freshman year. Douglass speculated that the sheer size of her sponsor group greatly contributed to the numerous cases of sponcest.

Douglass was one of the few who did not hook up, mostly because she felt she had "more of a brother relationship" with the guys in her sponsor group. In fact, the next year, when she herself was a sponsor, she warned her sponsees so adamantly about sponcest that she probably "scared them off." By the end of the year, there were a couple of relationships, but not much random hooking-up.

However, Douglass also points out that, although sponcest does occur, it