Love must not be on the brain, because many Ospreys are not married. Being married in college or a university is very uncommon, and UNF is no exception.

According to UNF Institutional Research, only 25 Ospreys in 2016-17 school year identified themselves as married. This number could be more because some people don’t provide this information, or do not update their marital status after tying the knot.

Professor of Psychology Dr. Christopher Leone’s research interests include close relationships, but he has tried studying married students in the past without much luck.

“Having tried to recruit married students for several studies, I think the low number simply represents the fact that most married students have to work in order to maintain a household, provide for children, and so forth. Doing so cuts into the time people have to also take classes,” Leone said.

The number of married students may have been lower than expected. UNF’s Public Relations Director Joanna Norris explained why this may be.

“Mostly, students do not provide their marital status information or it is not being entered into the student system.”

On record no students who are married live on campus, likely because the university does not offer married or family housing.

Married students are welcome to live on campus, but don’t expect any special treatment. Director of the Department of Housing and Residence Life Bob Boyle broke down the rules on marriage and dorm living.

“A married student may live in any of our communities if they submit a housing contract. But we would not rent bed space to them with the intent that their spouse would share their assigned room or bed,” Boyle said. “All visitation [and] guest policies would apply to them as a resident just like any other student.”

According to the U.S. Census, the average age of marriage is 27 for women and 29 for men.  The average age for a UNF undergrad is 23 according to collegeportraits.org. This may also be a factor in the low number of married people on campus.

“People should graduate before they get married in college because it’s more time to focus on you and your studies. Then you can think about getting your life together,” said junior Brittany DePass.

So while you may find love on campus between a rock and a hard place, or between a goose and a textbook, most likely you won’t be swooping down the aisle anytime soon.

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