Em-URGE-ing Voices

Posts Categorized: Sex and Culture

Miami University’s F-WORD Organizes Campus Protest

On Wednesday, October 22nd members of URGE’s chapter the F-Word organized a protest in response to conservative pundit George Will speaking on their campus.  Over 100 students turned out for the protest and 50 students attended a talk on campus sexual assault later that night organized by Miami University’s Women’s Center.  George Will was paid $48,000 by the university to speak at Miami’s campus despite his recent disturbing comments about sexual assault survivors.  Moving forward the F-Word plans to continue the conversation on campus sexual assault and work with the university to create a safe environment for survivors.

KU Students Challenge Administrators Over Sexual Assault Cases

This fall students at KU have been actively organizing on campus to let administrators know that the current guidelines for handling sexual assault cases reported to the University don’t go far enough. Members of SURGE have been active participants in this movement, but the movement itself has reached beyond the core group of student activists who started it and has progressed into a campus wide conversation.  Students started the conversation about the mishandling of sexual assault cases by administrators on social media with the #aGreatPlaceToBeUnsafe and the creation of a video with demands.  In this call to action from students to administrators students are telling prospective jayhawks not to attend KU next fall until these demands are met.  For more information about what is happening at KU follow the University… Read more »

Sex & Culture

URGE believes that everyone deserves the right to a happy, healthy sex life (and that includes talking about it!) As a society, we aren’t so great about talking about sex in positive ways. And we get even more negative and less productive when faced with the idea of and the lived realities of younger people engaged in anything other than abstinence. URGE chapters have their hands full combating negative messages about sex and sexuality on campus. These messages are damaging in and of themselves, but they also lead to harmful consequences and effects. Sex shaming can lead to judgmental and inadequate sexual services at the student health center. Victim-blaming is often a tactic to excuse campus administrations from being aggressive about preventing and responding to sexual assault on campus. Of… Read more »

Scripps College Takes on Sexual Assault

URGE at Scripps College has been kicking their sexual assault prevention work into high gear this spring. First, the chapter collaborated with Scripps College Advocates for Survivors of Sexual Assault to start a sexual assault hotline on campus. They also partnered with one of their Deans to make sure this would sustainable and supported by the administration, but run entirely by students. In April, they held a Take Back the Night event with the other Claremont Colleges. Scripps pushed the traditional narrative of what a “safe” community looks like beyond combating sexual assault to include groups that experience other types of harassment and violence. Over 150 people participated in the march and speak out that gave survivors an opportunity to speak out and share their stories. One of their partners, Building Leaders… Read more »

Sextravaganza at Agnes Scott!

Agnes Scott College hosted their annual Sextravaganza this March! Sextravaganza is a three day event focused on sexual health outreach and education. Students partnered with campus and community groups, hosted a safe(r) sex presentation, and collected signatures in support of the Real Education for Healthy Youth Act!  With a 20% increase in participation, it was definitely a successful year!

When Sex Ed Excludes You

I grew up in Southern California- home of 70-degree weather year-round, LA traffic, and comprehensive sex education.  Between my 6th and 9th-grade sex education lessons, I felt pretty well prepared when it came to discussions regarding sex. My teachers had walked us through each available contraception method, discussed the importance of getting regular STI checks, and assured us that our sexual debut was ours to define. We were not shamed into abstinence, nor misled by incorrect information- and yet, even in such a progressive state, so much was left out. It almost makes me laugh that in 2 years of teaching us sex education, my teachers never dared to utter the word “clitoris.” We learned all about the burdens and pains of having a vagina, but never verged on discussing… Read more »

The State of Sexual Health Education in Ohio 2020

The sexual health programming in Ohio’s public schools is not mandated to be medically accurate, age-appropriate, culturally competent, and is not prohibited from promoting religion or biased information.

Abortion Shouldn’t Be Rare and It Isn’t

From the most recent data available from the Guttmacher Institute and the American Journal of Public Health, approximately 1 in 4 women will have had at least one abortion by the age of 45. While this statistic does not include research around trans men and non-binary people that obtain abortions, it still goes to show that this is a very common procedure; but people do not choose to talk about it that way. I’ve seen protesters outside of clinics with signs that say “women regret abortion” and “men regret lost fatherhood”, and other anti-abortion phrases. In my early exposure to organizing around and for abortion rights, I found that many people I worked with, and even myself, would say things like, “No one wants to get an abortion…it is such… Read more »

Disney’s Casting of Johnny Depp Hurts Abuse Survivors

When we consume media, particularly media produced by individuals like musicians and artists, we have a choice to make: do we appreciate/not appreciate that person’s art separate from who they are as a person, or do we judge that person fully, taking their actions and views into account when we enjoy their art? While there is no clear-cut answer, I typically don’t mind if a musician or actor I like doesn’t have the same values or opinions I do; that’s part of life. Chris Pratt, for example, is Republican. He’s not discriminatory or anything of that sort, so I still support his work. However, I will not support a celebrity if they have committed violent acts, especially against women. This value aligns with what the #MeToo movement means to accomplish:… Read more »