“SJSinNYC – “I still don’t know what coed functions lead to because I’ve been to many and nothing improper happened.”
I’m going to adresss this one point at a time:
“I still don’t know what coed functions lead to”
Let me spell this out for you: Boys and girls, when they get together, tend to form relationships that rarely end in marriage, but almost without exception leads to issurim.
“I’ve been to many and nothing improper happened.”
Well people aren’t going to do anything improper right in the middle of a public simcha now, are they?”
Aren’t we talking about those of marriagable age? Boy and girl (both in the dating scene) meet at a wedding. Start talking and have stuff in common. Exchange phone numbers. Talk on the phone, set up a date. Date. Get engaged. Get married. Live happily ever after. OR date. Break up. Find their own basherts. Live happily ever after.
Seriously – you are talking about people who are dating. If they can’t control themselves to date properly through the shidduch system, they won’t date properly here.
The whole point of this thread is about mixed seating. As you agree, if there are hundreds of people around nothing improper will happen. When they go privately, it might. Same as any other date.
[As an aside, you would be surprised how many of my right wing friends were not shomer once they got engaged]
Your better argument would be to argue that they might meet someone they like very much who doesn’t meet their hashkafa requirements. Better argument.