Columnist says goodbye, thanks 'faithful' readers

Dear Readers,\nAs some of you might have figured out, I'll be graduating in a little less than two weeks, thus ending (at least temporarily) my four-year run as the IDS Sexpert. It's been a wild ride. When I started writing for the IDS, I never thought the column would take off the way it did. And that means I have you, my dear, faithful readers, to thank for keeping the Sexpert column alive and healthy for the last four years.\nSo, thank you for reading, thank you for all your comments, support and criticism, and thanks for all those times I overheard you talking about me when you didn't realize I was there. But most of all, thank you for your questions. If this campus weren't so full of emotionally torn, sexually confused, romantically disenchanted students, I would have been out of a job. The questions I receive have opened my mind and broadened my horizons more than any other experience I've had as a college student, and for that I am grateful. I hope that my humble bits of advice have served to repay you at least in part.\nIn honor of my last Sexpert column as an IU student, I thought I'd finally get around to answering some of the most frequently asked questions I get that never seemed appropriate for publication.\nHow did you get to be the Sexpert?\nI lived in Collins Center during my freshman year, and wanted to write for its weekly newsletter, the Collins Columns. Someone suggested we should have a sex advice column. No one wanted to actually write it, so I blindly took the plunge. Thus, the Sexpert was born.\nLater, the then-opinion editor at the IDS, Sara Spalding, told her sister the paper was looking for some columns that were a little less conservative. Sara's sister happened to be a good friend of mine, so she referred her to me. So that's how I started my career at the IDS. (Thanks, Lisa.)\nHow many editors did you have to sleep with to get your job?\nNone. How many people does one have to sleep with to qualify as the Sexpert?\nNone of your business.\nWhere do you get your information?\nI do plenty of research for each column, and I won't print the answer to any question unless I'm confident the information is accurate. I have contacts with professors in various departments should I have any questions, and I have a veritable library of sex books I've collected during the past four years.\nOnce the column became more successful and people started telling me I could have a future as an advice columnist, I changed my major to Human Sexuality through the Individualized Major Program. The IMP is a great avenue for students whose interests fall outside the boundaries of traditional departments.\nAnd of course, the wonderful people at the Kinsey Institute have been an incredible resource. I am deeply indebted to such patient and generous Kinsey staffers as Stephanie Sanders, Erick Janssen, Jennifer Bass and others for their information and support. The Sexpert would never have made it this far without them.\nWhat do you look like?\nMost people tell me I look like my father, but with red hair and without a mustache.\nCan I replace you as the Sexpert after you graduate?\nDon't count me out just yet. The IDS has a history of churning out advice columnists who continued their careers after graduation (E. Jean Carroll of Elle, Harlan Cohen of "Help Me Harlan"). So while I don't have any immediate plans for my future, I can tell you that you haven't heard the last of the Sexpert.