That does happen here: A case for better sexual education at JCU

*This is an OP/ED piece that was written for Her Campus JCU*

The hookup culture has become a widely discussed topic in universities across the nation and it has revived conversations about sexual education and the importance of students knowing exactly what they are getting into when engaging in hookups.

We all had the basic “birds and the bees” talk from our parents in fourth or fifth grade, but how much do we actually know about staying safe as far as sexual activities go?

In my opinion, not enough.

I have been amazed at some of the misconceptions I have encountered during my two and a half years at college. What I learned was that, a lot of the time, sexual education stops after the “Where do babies come from?” conversation.

My concern is how universities are going to be able to accurately discuss the hookup culture and all it entails without also taking the necessary steps to promote sexual education. I feel we have reached the point where the “that doesn’t happen here” theory is falling flat.

Students are becoming more and more open about sex and they want to learn about it. College newspapers all over the country like The Daily Texan at the University of Texas and The Hoya at Georgetown University have started to tackle questions about sex that everyone seems to have, but no one wants to talk about.

The initiative these college newspapers have taken has been greeted with both commendation and condemnation, but they are simply filling the education gap that is so glaringly evident at their universities. These student journalists are at the front of the push for more open conversation about sexual health because they see the lack of dialogue about this important topic.

What is troubling is that the same education gap exists at John Carroll University. While I understand and respect the Catholic ideals that are being promoted in regards to premarital sex and “promiscuous” behavior, I do think that if topics like hookups are going to be discussed at the University, it is important to take the next step and start the conversation about sexual education.

The policy of an “abstinence only” sexual health policy is slowly becoming ineffective. Students are more connected to information than ever and it would seem that all universities would want to ensure that students were getting the right information about their sexual health than false assumptions from a third party website.

Universities need to realize that students are going to engage in sexual activities whether they have the information or not and I think it is more important for colleges to promote sexual education than to turn a blind eye to something that is happening right in front of them.

This is not to say that JCU has not taken any steps to promote sexual health and education. JCU took a step in the right direction when they began offering HIV/AIDS tests in 1993 and again when they started to offer OB/GYN clinics to women where the exam included sexually transmitted infection screenings.

More recently, the current hookup culture series that started on campus at the beginning of October has opened up a conversation about what hookups mean to students, why we engage in them and what the consequences can be.

This series is the most progressive and public conversation about sexual health at the University to date and while I applaud JCU for organizing it, I do think that they next step is a discussion about safe sexual activity and a promotion of places students can go to get any information and resources they may want about sexual education. After all, information and resources about pregnancy are available, so why not information and resources about sexual health and protection?

I am in no way arguing for an total overturn of the Catholic teachings about sexual activity, I just want resources to be available for students who choose to engage in said activities. Not all of the students on campus are Catholic and even some of those who are, still hook-up with people and some even have sex.

I think it would be better for JCU to promote or at least provide information about healthy sexual relationships and precautions instead of pretending that it doesn’t happen here and in the spirit of educating the whole person, I think it is high time for the conversation to start.