NYU's P18

Brianna Lyle

Journalism: 600 word article

In January of 2011, NYU Steinhardt started a surveying process called P18 which is now paying gay men between the ages of 18 and 20 up to 410 dollars a survey, in order to conduct research on young, gay men staying healthy.

“The surveys are set up in order to gather information for NYU’s databases on sex and relationship issues,” says Nina Paulson the associate director of P18. Paulson describes the process as relatively simple and a great way to make money if you fit the criteria. The surveys are set up similarly to other research projects often flooded by college students, such as sleep studies and dietary studies done by local hospitals.

The process is simple. One is greeted in the waiting office of NYU’s CHIBPS, Center for Health, Identity, Behavior and Prevention Studies, and then taken back to a room where approximately 20 other men are. Here, men are asked questions such as “when did you know when you were gay” and “how long have you been sexually intimate with other men?” The answers are then recorded by a staff member at CHIBPS. Participants explain the process as simple and not embarrassing, even though participants answer the questions in front of everyone. “It’s an easy buck,” said Syd Chan,18, a frequent surveyor. And money is exactly what is pulling students in.

“When we first started this, we weren’t paying people. Now that we are, we have an overwhelming amount of volunteers,” says Paulson. Just a simple sheet needs to be filled out and then one to two weeks later a check is received in the mail by the participant. “The first time I went in for an interview, I thought it was a scam. [I thought] there is no way it can be this easy,” said Chan. Sure enough, however, Chan received his 150 dollar check in the mail shortly after taking part in the survey. NYU also gave him business cards with a special number on it; if Chan gets more men to attend, he is compensated. Some think this idea of paying for intimate details is anomalous.

“Sometimes these guys are sharing things they normally wouldn’t, all for a little dough,” said Casey Miller, 20, a one-time participant in the surveys. “I think it’s weird. It made me feel dirty.” However, participants say there shouldn’t be any reason to feel uncomfortable once they are in the room. In the contract, everything is thoroughly explained out.

The survey was so successful for Chan that some of his straight friends even wanted to pretend to be gay for the pay. “After I saw that I would have to keep up my act for an hour, I knew I couldn’t pretend to be gay,” said Michael Kepp, 19. Kepp is right. Participants said that some men have even gotten up and left in the middle of a session because they could not keep a straight face. “The men who pretend to be gay can never make it through a whole survey,” said Paulson. “So, it hasn’t affected our research yet.”

Chan is one of the hundreds that are now actively participating in the surveys conducted by NYU’s CHIBPS. “We hope that it brings us some interesting research,” said Paulson. For most, however, the research doesn’t matter. Participants only care that there check shows up in the mail.