On Saturday, March 23, Wittenberg’s Office Of Residence Life and TJ Mele, ’20, a Resident Advisor, put on a sex education program that was opened to all of campus.
The event was held in the Central Dining Room (CDR), located on the second floor of the Benham-Pence Student Center.
The event started off with a Ted Talk video titled “Body Sovereignty and Kids” on YouTube. This talk was given by Monica Rivera, who is a professor at Colorado State University. The video touched on a few main points when it comes to consent. One of the topics discussed in the video was your body, your choice. The speaker went on to talk about her four-year-old son not wearing a jacket when it was cold outside and her judgy neighbors. The other topic was body sovereignty which discussed being comfortable with your body.
According to the Ted Talk and Mele, about one in four women go through some type of sexual violence or assault, and for men, it’s approximately one in six.
Mele put on the wonderful event.
“We are trying to be most inclusive and trying to get everyone in….a lot of what we have to do with sex is inappropriate,” Mele said.
Mele discussed the awkwardness or taboo nature of talking about sex.
There were many activity booths available for students to walk around to. A couple examples included a booth where you get to learn how to put a condom on properly and another where you tried to use pick up lines.
In the end, the event was a success, which spoke to Mele’s point that it is okay to talk about sex. The event showed students that sex and consent should go hand-in-hand. The event also advocated that it is okay to speak up about trauma you have experienced, that is if you choose to do so; if no one talked about trauma they experienced, then victims won’t be heard.
The National Sexual Assault Hotline is 1-800-656-4673.
