IIT Bombay freshmen survey: 25% uncomfortable with homosexuality, 95% are still virgins

An estimated 95.1 per cent IIT Bombay freshmen are virgins, while 24.1 per cent are not comfortable with the idea of homosexuality and/or homosexual marriages. These and other findings were revealed in a survey of freshmen conducted by Insight, IIT Bombay's student newspaper.

"This survey was inspired by Harvard Crimson's Freshmen Survey, meant for the incoming batch. We surveyed the 2015 batch on diverse topics. The idea is to appreciate and understand the diversity of a freshmen batch," says Shreeyesh Sreekumar, chief editor of Insight.

About 254 IIT-B freshmen, out of a batch of 875 freshers, participated in the survey, which tried to gauge the following aspects in detail:

"We intend to conduct this freshman survey every year, just like the senior survey which is conducted near the end of course completion," says Sreekumar.

Some of the other interesting findings of the survey are:

1. 92.7 per cent identified as heterosexuals while 2.2 per cent identified as homosexuals
2. 22 per cent respondents from rural backgrounds were uncomfortable with the idea of homosexuality. An almost equivalent percentage of respondents (25 per cent) from Tier-1 cities felt uncomfortable about the same.
3. 70.3 per cent of the respondents are, or have previously been, in relationships.
4. 55.3 per cent freshers believe their social life (dating, partying, hanging out, etc.) has been affected because of JEE preparation
5. Religious Belief vs Income: 63.5 per cent agnostics lie under the Rs 10 lakh income group while 66.67 per cent believers and 47.62 per cent atheists lie in the same income category.
6. 83.5 per cent respondents said they have not consumed alcohol before college, while 94.8 per cent said they have never smoked cigarettes before college.
7. Barring the 54 out of 250 students who believe they would not take up a job after graduation, 44 believe that they will earn less than Rs 10 lpa.
8. 28 per cent respondents believe they will take up a job in the engineering sector after college while 30 per cent said they would opt for higher education. 26 per cent of the respondents said they were clueless on what they would like to do after graduation
9. Despite months of preparation for IIT JEE, 41.7 per cent of the candidates said they were unhappy with their current department
10. 74 per cent respondents admitted to cheating in their school examination at least once

According to the chief editor of Insight, "About 50 per cent respondents feel burnt out after JEE preparation. Moreover 55 per cent freshers stated that their social lives took a hit because of IIT preparation."

"Wanted to understand the underlying factors that shapes an IIT Bombay through the survey," he adds.

St Stephens sex survey

St Stephens student Devansh Mehta had carried out an anonymous sex survey, results of which were published in January 2015.

According to Mehta, just 10 per cent boys and girls spoke to their parents about masturbation. Most operated on a "Don't ask, don't tell" policy.

"The survey made me realise that sex is an unnecessary burden and taboo that we are forced to endure in our interactions, especially with members of the opposite sex. And only a small initiative, a few questions and laughs are required to kill the sex monster," said Mehta.