College is infamous for being the span of time in a person’s life where they do the majority of their hooking up. With no parents around and new freedom to be taken advantage of, it’s a lot easier to experience the single life so many college students choose to enjoy.

There are people who come into college with relationships, some of which may have lasted throughout high school. But what happens to these people when college life sets in and you see all your single friends enjoying different experiences? Sometimes it doesn’t matter, but sometimes resentment begins to set in as you wonder what you could be doing if you weren’t with your significant other.

A lot of college couples take a “break” where they can hook up with other people in order to prevent any future resentment or infidelity in their relationship. These couples want to have their cake and eat it too, but are they potentially losing their relationship for a couple of meaningless one-night stands?

Anna Pettus, a junior majoring in English with a concentration in creative writing, was in a long-distance relationship when she entered college and imagines taking a break would have had a negative impact on the relationship.

“If he had suggested a break before we left for school that would have shown me that what was really important to him was a party,” she said. “And if you’re with me I’m going to have to be more important than a party is to you.”

Jennifer Brogna, a sophomore majoring in linguistics, is in a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend of two years and feels that taking a break isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“In the long term, it could ease any regret about experiencing college,” she said.

However, Jonathan McMahon, a sophomore majoring in integrative neuroscience, disagrees. He thinks that taking a break makes no sense because inevitably it will become permanent.

“There are so many people out there that there is such a little chance that a relationship will survive because at that point you’re playing a numbers game of who is going to hook up with more people,” he said.

McMahon also pointed out that the more the other person hooks up, the less likely you’ll be able to trust them once the break is over.

College is a huge transitional period in a young person’s life. More often than not, the person you are as when you enter freshman year is a different person upon graduation.

“Some relationships can grow and mature as the people in it do, other times they can’t,” Pettus said. “I think what’s really important is that you always stay on the same page as the other person, and while a break could help you do that I’ve often seen that a break means that the two people aren’t communicating anymore.”

No matter what choice you make, it is important to stay true to who you are and what you think is the right decision.

“People in college should do whatever they feel is best for them,” Brogna said. “If you’re happy in your current relationship then there is really no reason to end things. However, if you feel tempted to ‘live the college life,’ then staying single is the way to go.”

Though many people contemplate putting their long-term relationships on hold for a chance at some Downtown action, the popular opinion seems to be that taking a break in a relationship causes more harm than good.