A Boston College professor is giving out extra credit to students who go on an old-fashioned date.

 It's an effort to combat the hook-up culture on campus. The Washington Post (subscription required) broke the story but Fox News picked it up:

A Boston College philosophy professor—known as the “dating professor”—offers extra credit to her students who (while sober) ask someone out on a date, go out on that said date and have no physical contact.

The Washington Post reported on Monday that Professor Kerry Cronin said she came up with the idea to combat hookup culture that has gotten popular on campuses due–in part– to our “hypersexualized” culture. She also said that she learned that many of her seniors had never been on a date.

For the credit, students must follow certain rules:

The rules of the assignment include asking the person out in person. Here’s a key part: the recipient has to know it’s a date. Cronin tells her students not to worry about rejection, just move on. She said that leads to “thicker skin.”

“This is mostly not about meeting your soul mate; it’s mostly about social courage and challenging yourself to be a little countercultural, to do something you know you want to do,” she told the paper. “And to just be okay with being a little awkward, a little vulnerable and asking a little bit of yourself.”

In an academic world in which too many professors spout utter nonsense they themselves haven't digested, Professor Cronin is a stand out. Good to stress the social awkwardness that comes with learning what to do.

Professor Cronin deserves extra credit for doing the most positive thing I've read about on campus lately.