Jake Meyers said he plans to settle some unfinished business with high school classmates over Thanksgiving break.

"There are always those girls back home that you flirt with and always those girls that you did have stuff with," Meyers (freshman-hotel, restaurant and institutional management) said. "I plan on taking things where they never went."

Students often desire to hook up with high school classmates because they do not want to be alone during the holidays, said Brian Saltsman, professor of biobehavioral health.

"We are bombarded with media images of togetherness and happiness, and no one wants to be alone a lot of the times," Saltsman said. "Individuals often want to rekindle relationships with past partners because they remember all of their happy memories."

It might be desperation or might be about wanting to reconnect with people from the past, Saltsman said.

Now that he is a college student, Meyers said he feels he will have a better opportunity to hook up with girls when he returns home.

"I feel different because I am a college kid," Meyers said.

"You're older. You live by yourself. You can do whatever you want. Anything can happen," he added.

Many opportunities in college allow students to discover who they really are, which can help them be more confident with relationships, Saltsman said.

"There is that instillation of having that new level of confidence and being able to be your own person," Saltsman said.

After recently breaking up with her boyfriend, Jaquana Windsor (junior-journalism) said she might hook up with someone from home over break.

"Since I'm single, anything's possible," Windsor said.

Whether students hook up with classmates from home or not depends on the individual, Natalie M. Vasquez (junior-business economics) said.

"It depends on how horny you are," Vasquez said. "If you don't get laid in two months, then you're going to go home and expect some. But people who hook up with high school classmates are living in the past."

Windsor said people hook up with high school classmates because they hardly ever see them.

"It's been three years since I graduated from high school. Over break, people will hook up with their high school classmates because they'll never see them again," Windsor said.

Saltsman cautioned against this mentality.

"With a no-strings-attached relationship, you are denying responsibility. It's like a 'what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas' situation," Saltsman said.

If the two partners involved have different expectations, this can lead to negative consequences, Saltsman said. He added that it reinforces the bad habits media encourages, Saltsman said.

Some students believe hooking up with people from the past is a means of security, Jamie Carey (junior-agriculture business management) said of why she thinks students would get together with high school classmates. People are more inclined to hook up with people back home because they are more comfortable with them, she said.

"You know that they won't do anything to hurt you," Carey said.

Although Meyers has some expectations for the holiday week, he said he is planning to keep an open mind with possible hook ups.

"I usually just take the course," Meyers said. "Whatever happens, happens."