We should talk more about sex.
We already talk about it a little. Every fall, Hillsdale hosts Greek houses, freshmen, and off-campus houses for a discussion about sexual harassment, sexual assault, and weekend etiquette. The program means well, but students don’t walk away with much of value and instead are often just scared by the concept of sexual intimacy. Talks like this should be given in a panel-style forum, including health professionals, and should be open to the whole campus. Health Services should host sexual health forums once a semester to help better inform students about all things sex.
Right now, too much sex “education” comes from television and pornography — both of which highlight and celebrate the extreme, the profane, and the violent. Hillsdale students talk about porn all of the time, often coming to a common consensus about its harmful effects on relationships, the developing brain, and conceptions of sex. But if students don’t feel safe or comfortable asking the adults in their lives about sexual topics, a quick Google search becomes all the more seductive. A curious young person can quickly become victim to what the World Wide Web has to say about intimacy, despite knowing it probably isn’t all that good.
College-sponsored forums could cover topics like sexual education basics, information about sexually transmitted diseases and infections, pornography, and consent. They can feature spiritual leaders on campus, faculty, and even outside speakers. Students should be able to ask questions and candidly discuss sex, and Hillsdale offers a unique space to make that conversation spiritually well-rounded and biologically informed.
Hillsdale is a Christian campus. Many people here are waiting until marriage to have sex, but you’d have to be a few points short of Hillsdale’s average IQ to assume everyone in 49242 is keeping their pants on.
For many students, gray areas arise when it comes to defining sex. What might not “count” as sexual activity to some surely qualifies in a doctor’s office. Health Services can provide a medical perspective to aid students in the development of their sexual values and identity. Even if they choose abstinence until their wedding night, there is still much to know — issues don’t disappear in marriage. Educating students will assist them in their current and future relationships, no matter the end goal. If not educated, students are left vulnerable and can be taken advantage of, either by potential partners or a toxic culture.
The forums don’t have to be graphic how-to, pro-promiscuity parades — they can just seek to answer questions and offer information that many people on this campus do not have. Lots of students at Hillsdale were raised religiously, attended charter or classical schools, or were homeschooled, all of which might have hindered their access to sexual education. Sex might never have been a topic of conversation growing up, and suddenly students find themselves in college having their first true dose of freedom alongside a few spikes in hormones. The birds and the bees suddenly become very important.
Yet many students here still can’t tell the difference between a biology diagram and a Star Trek alien drawing. If you don’t believe that, you haven’t had a candid discussion with your peers about what sex is. What might seem funny at the surface level reveals a deep misunderstanding of one, if not the, most important biological processes.
Sex is controversial and challenging, and Hillsdale has a unique opportunity to tackle it. Forums can offer balanced perspectives from adults who know a thing or two, both spiritually and medically, about pants, birds, and bees. Aside from the random discussions given to freshmen and Greek houses, it is wasting this chance to shape the way young people think about sex. Shedding the idealist fantasy that sex exists only behind closed doors, between couples who wear wedding bands, can allow a more open discussion that empowers young people to make the best decisions for themselves.
Alexandra Hall is a junior studying rhetoric, biology, and journalism.
