The Oberlin Review
<< Front page News October 13, 2007

Safer Sex Night Alternative Sparks Campus Debate
A Tale of Two Thursday Events

This past Thursday night, Oberlin students faced a difficult decision: don a skimpy outfit and attend the infamous Safer Sex Night, or “fire it up” with a ResEd-sponsored carnival in Philips Gym.

Though on the surface this appears to be a typical Oberlin case of too many tempting activities happening on the same night, deep-seated tensions accompanied these events.

Safer Sex Night was created 17 years ago to help educate Oberlin students about safer sex practices — such as contraception and the concept of consent — in an engaging way, while at the same time raising money for the campus Sexual Information Center.

Five years ago, Oberlin’s Office of Residential Education decided that an alternative event was necessary. “There are a number of reasons that people might prefer not to seek out or be exposed to information about sex in a public arena,” said Dean of Students Linda Gates. “The alternate activities do not seek to replace or in any way minimize the importance of learning about and practicing safe sex.  It is just designed to be fun.”

However, Allison Carlisle, the student planning Safer Sex Night, feels that this year in particular ResEd is attempting to rival the SIC’s event. “It’s really obvious how much more ResEd is advertising this year,” she said. “We don’t want this to be a competition, but it’s really hard not to see it as a competition.”

She cited their advertising strategies — such as requiring all RAs to both put up flyers and to stop by the event — noting that the SIC doesn’t have the resources to equal their exposure: “There are posters everywhere, [Fire it Up] had their banner up in Wilder more than a week before the event, which is against the rules, and they also have been going into Stevie to talk to students eating dinner. They’re advertising in-person. It seems over the top.”

Though Gates clarified that the Wilder banner rules are “guidelines, not actual policy,” Carlisle still feels that the ResEd practices are “unfair.”

“They have all this institutional support and we’re just a 10-person student organization,” she said. “I feel that we deserve institutional support. Or at the very least, not institutional opposition.”

Graduate Residential Director Frank Cirioni, one of the “Fire It Up in Philips” coordinators, stressed that he and his colleague simply “wanted to make the event more fun and exciting than previous years.” He noted that he never wanted his event to compete with Safer Sex Night, saying, “To make the event more open to students wishing to attend both programs, Fire It Up at Philips will begin two hours before Safer Sex Night.”

One issue bothers both ResEd and the SIC alike: the image of Safer Sex Night, both within the College and in the outside world.

The SIC worries that Safer Sex Night is seen only as a party, when its true goals are education and fundraising. The evening is the SIC’s one fundraiser for the year and allows them to provide at-cost safer sex supplies, 50 cent pregnancy tests and free counseling to students year-round.

“A lot of people don’t think it’s as educational as we think it is,” said Carlisle. “But I think that Oberlin students know a lot more about safer sex practices than students at other schools and I think that is in a large part because of Safer Sex Night and other work that the SIC does.”

Sophomore Taylor Soderborg agrees, “Safer Sex Night is focused on promoting safe sex, not just looking hot in your undies. This school might be trying to change and go in a new direction, but I think Safer Sex Night is an essential part of the Obie tradition and shouldn’t be taken away. We should support Safer Sex Night.”

Both Gates and Director of ResEd Molly Tyson expressed support for the SIC’s goals for Safer Sex Night to educate students, noting that the cause of their concern was not about what happens in Wilder itself on Safer Sex Night, but what goes on before and after the event with regards to excessive alcohol consumption and other unsafe behaviors. Tyson noted that Fire It Up will be providing food for students to try to help counterbalance alcohol consumption.

Tyson also explained the reasoning behind supporting an event like Fire It Up as an alternative to Safer Sex Night. “There are a lot of students who feel uncomfortable in [Safer Sex Night’s] environment.”

Carlisle acknowledged that ResEd’s concerns were legitimate only “to a point.” “We don’t want there to be unsafe activity either, and we don’t want it to be just a huge party. We try not to let people in who are visibly intoxicated. Education is our biggest concern. We have workshops during the event and in the week leading up to it.”

An SIC member, who wishes to remain anonymous, claims that she offered informational pamphlets and free supplies to be included in the alternative event to Assistant Dean Brayton Fields. The Dean allegedly refused, claiming that the event was supposed to have nothing to do with sex. However, Cirioni, who has done most of the planning for the Philips event, said he’d be open to such a possibility.

Expressing the hopes of many, Carlisle commented, “It would be nice if we could have a little more communication [with the College].”

Over the years, the image of both Safer Sex Night and Oberlin has been damaged by a bout of bad press. In 2002, the magazine Cleveland Scene reported on the event, calling it “a celebration of sex for sex’s sake” and a “carnal carnival.” In 2003, online conservative journal Frontpage Magazine commented, “Most parents would be concerned if their kids were exhorted to have sex by campus-sponsored speakers or encouraged to get promiscuous at orgies hosted by the college.”

First-year Sohaib Naim, an international student from Pakistan, has encountered the effect of such press. “Many people outside campus, especially outside the country, make sweeping generalizations about Oberlin. The hype of Safer Sex Night often plays down the scholastic repute of the college.”

His feelings on the event, however, are positive overall. “It’s impressive that the College boldly and openly raises awareness of sexual knowledge. Coming from countries where talking about sex is still considered taboo in society, the atmosphere is shocking, and may seem a little bit too uninhibited, but it’s a positive feature of the College nonetheless.”

Carlisle hopes the turnout will be the same as previous years — usually around 800 students — despite the intense advertisement for the College’s alternate event. “It’s the way for us to education the most people at once.”


 
 
   

Powered by