Freshman Alisha Bouzaher said she couldn't imagine herself married in the near future - even if just 50 years ago many women her age had already taken the plunge into wedlock.
"Absolutely not. I need to be single. I have so many goals in life, so many things I want to do," Bouzaher, who sees marriage as a clamp on such possibilities, said. "If I got married now, I would look back and have so many regrets."
This sentiment reflects a major shift in social and marriage trends over the last 50 years: fewer women are marrying and those who do are waiting longer. In mid-January, the New York Times reported that, for the first time in America's history, more women than not - 51 percent - are single or living without a husband. This figure was just 35 percent in 1950 and 49 percent in 2000.
The latest marriage statistic sent media, social groups, and sociologists into a frenzy. While women's rights groups celebrated the number as a sign of women's increasing independence, some conservative groups bemoaned the disintegration of marriage.
Sociology Professor Susan Ostrander warned against such rash conclusions. "Without more information, it's impossible to draw any conclusions," she said in an e-mail, suggesting that women might simply be outliving men, or that more women might be coming out as lesbians in a more tolerant atmosphere.
"What is perhaps most interesting is why people find this statistic so intriguing," Ostrander continued. "Do some people like the idea that maybe women are 'choosing' the single life? Are others worried that heterosexual marriage may be threatened?"
While some groups across the nation might be concerned about the shift, women at Tufts seem to see the development as a sign that times are changing for the better. Junior Elsie Mbugua believes women previously married young because of a desire for security.
"For the first time, women have the opportunity to succeed, and one of the sacrifices women have to make is not getting married as soon," she said.
Bouzaher also views the development as positive. "It means we are living in a society where there are no rules for women, where women are not just housewives," she said.
In discussing marriage, the topic of age remains heated; many agree that waiting to marry is essential, but for how long? Bouzaher said the earliest she would consider marriage would be during her mid- to late twenties.
Senior Ali Epstein agreed. "Twenty-seven to 29 [years old] is my ideal," she said. "It depends on the situation, but I'd like to be married within the next 10 years."
Mbugua - like Epstein - also believes late 20s to be ideal. "Twenty-eight to 29," she said. "By then you've had opportunities to get an education, to set a career. You finally have time to devote to family."
Both Bouzaher and Mbugua said marrying now would narrow their educational and professional opportunities. At this point in their lives, they said, they must prioritize their educations and their careers above long-term romance.
"My career will be here 20 years from now - and not the guy," Bouzaher said with a laugh. "If I give up my career, and it doesn't work out with the guy, I'm screwed!"
Marriage and opportunity, according to Bouzaher, are simply incompatible. "Marriage means it's not about you anymore," she said. "It's about making sacrifices."
Mbugua also expressed her belief that marriage limits freedom. "You can't have as much advancement in your career," she said. "Right now I'm extremely flexible, but marriage would take this away."
These sentiments are not confined to Tufts women. Since 1950, the proportion of married women in the age groups 15-24 and 25-34 has declined the most precipitously, according to the New York Times. The marriage rate of women between the ages of 15 and 24 dropped from 42 percent in 1950 to 16 percent in 2000, and the rate of those between the ages of 25 and 34 plummeted from 82 percent to 58 percent.
But while previous generations of women have typically married young, they haven't necessarily held the same expectations for their daughters and granddaughters. Both Epstein's mother and grandmother married young - at ages 22 and 18 respectively - but encouraged late marriages.
"Both of them said it was important for me to find my own way," she said. "They thought I should wait. They wanted me to find independence in the world."
But while many women have chosen to push marriage to the back burner in favor of educational and professional development, they refuse to dismiss it as an eventual possibility.
"I think [marriage] would be fulfilling and it's something I eventually will want. Personally, it's important to me," Epstein said, stressing the importance of marriage in raising children. "I think it's more ideal to be married, to have a father and mother," she said.
Mbugua agreed. "I understand the need for marriage," she said. "You need a support system; you need a family or a spouse or someone at your side, which is important in life."
