One last outing with friends

Some American traditions, though once done for a reason, do not necessarily have a purpose today.

Take the Easter Bunny story, for instance. Once impressionable preschoolers finally understand barnyard animal behavior, along comes a story of an egg-laying, candy-munching bunny rabbit, whose anthropomorphic personality contradicts what they were taught.

And then there is Santa Claus. At any other time of the year, a fat man's creeping across the roof and sneaking down the chimney would not be called good holiday fun. It would be called breaking and entering.

Although carrying on these traditions may be harmless, continuing other traditions might not be. As students get older, many find themselves and their best friends getting engaged to be married. Weddings are full of ridiculous customs, but one in particular seems to be the antithesis of holy matrimony.

The ring, white doves, and virginal veil are all part of the tradition of marriage. And so are attractive naked women jumping out of cakes the weekend before the wedding.

Watching two of my best friends preparing to marry each other has been an adventure in itself. And gearing up for their separate bachelor and bachelorette parties has been something else.

The two lovebirds asked the party throwers - the best man and me - not to honor them with a party of scantily clad dancers brandishing cans of whipped cream. I am going along with the request. But rumor has it, the groomsmen are not.

Time-honored as it may be, having a stripper come to a private residence with the sole intent of teasing and arousing a man who has pledged fidelity to a woman devalues the significance of the wedding.

The wedding ring has been called a symbol of never-ending eternity. It also has also been called the world's smallest handcuff.

The view of marriage as a prison sentence may contribute to the groomsmen's desire to give their buddy, the groom, one last chance to interact with the opposite sex.

Or maybe getting married might just be a really good excuse to order some pizza and a naked women.

Although some people call bachelor parties "good, clean fun," the parties are not good or clean. For proof, one may flip through a telephone directory. A friendly neighborhood stripper can be at one's residence in 45 minutes or less.

Strip clubs, though not true establishments of the arts, can be a solution.

Though the strip club dancers are still unclothed, at least the one-on-one dynamic of a private stripper party is not present.

A night out before the wedding could also give a bride- or groom-to-be a last chance to spend time with someone of the opposite sex before leaving the single state.

Jeanine Cardullo is a psychology major at CSULB.