But group leaders deny such allegations about their groups' activities.

"We're a very professional group," Jeremy D. Fiebert '97, an officer of HACIA Democracy. "That statement is incorrect. We're educators and act responsibly."

Students also say that the availability of alcohol can transform any location into a pick-up scene.

"Cast parties, finals clubs, places with a lot of alcohol are places where there is going to be a lot of sex," one Dunster House junior says.

"One scene is to go to the Grille and meet the finals man of your choice and go back to his club," one Quincy junior says.

Although more than three-quarters of people interviewed cited final clubs as a place to bring someone home, final club affiliates are quick to say that their clubs are given a bad rap.

"Finals are not a place to pick up women; they are a place to hang out with your buddies." One member says. "Because they are major social centers it works out that way conveniently, but that is not the function of a club."

The availability of sex at places with a lot of alcohol is a concern for some students.

"The drunker you are, the less likely you are to use a condom," says Tobias B. Kasper '97, who chairs Peer Contraceptive Counselors.

But alcohol loosens the tongues and the inhibitions of Harvard students. As a result, the Grille, the Bow and other bars and clubs are all considered prime places to meet a potential partner.

And Harvard does have its fair share of lively, if small, parties. While most center around a keg or cocktails, some tend to the bizarre and erotic.

Adams House residents are eager to share their rituals. The traditions of group sex and pagan rites may have reached its peak last year when a group of juniors hosted a Saturnalian debauchery, inspired by research in the Widener classics stacks.

After licking marshmallow cream off of each other and duct-taping one boxer-clad man to the window, 10 guests jumped in the shower to rinse off.

"There was lots of drinking, mostly underwear and lingerie--it was Harvard sex at its best," says a proud Mitchell H. McClure '96.

Eateries or Meat Markets?