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Sexual myth-busters: The week in college sex

May 10, 2011 - 11:00 AM
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Parents, teachers, sex reporters, and other adults looking for a creepy window into the sex lives of our nation's youth! Welcome to TBD's digest of local college sex columns:

NAME IT: The Johns Hopkins University News-Letter throws its weight behind Until It's Zero, a new campus blog airing anonymous accounts of JHU sexual assaults: "In general, but specifically at Hopkins, sexual assault and rape are vastly under-reported as a result of stigmas perpetuated within our community. Some victim s are embarrassed and many are unaware of what constitutes sexual assault. In fact, at an event . . . held on the breezeway, one passerby realized that they in fact had been sexually assaulted. The vague popular definition of sexual assault certainly contributed to this confusion." Read their stories here.

COLD AS ICE: The Towson University Towerlight details the demise of the campus' closest sex shop, Love Ones. The adult-oriented business will be replaced by a shop selling "Jamaican-themed apparel and jewelry, as well as Italian ice." “I figure the Italian ice is one of the main attractions because in the summertime it’s hot,” said a store manager. “In the winter we’re going to be doing coffee.”

POSITIVE, NEGATIVE: The UMD Diamondback profiles married couple Shawn Decker and Gwenn Barringer. Shawn is HIV-positive; Gwen isn't.

 

LET'S TALK ABOUT SEX: The Georgetown Hoya weighs in in favor of a new proposed sexual health curriculum on campus: "While the creation of a sexual health peer education group will be a step in the right direction, there is still uncertainty regarding the group's jurisdiction and role on campus. The university could easily take two steps backward if in the name of religion it fails to equip the group to freely provide necessary information. The group should be able to engage in frank dialogue with students to dispel myths and promote safe practices as a part of the university's initiative to create a greater on-campus support system surrounding sexual health issues. As an institution that values education, the university has an obligation to provide the necessary means for students to stay safe and informed."

WORDS SPEAK LOUDER THAN: The Georgetown Voice one-ups the Hoya, urging student sexual health advocates to focus on more talk, less action: "Although protests are certainly an important tool for student-led movements to raise awareness, affect campus opinion, and push an often-distant administration to respond, a confrontational approach alone is unlikely to be effective," the campus alternative paper said. "Because most Georgetown students are not involved in on-campus activism, student movements that rely too heavily on protests with the intent of shaming the administration risk alienating the student body. For example, after the protest last year, which happened during a visiting weekend for accepted students, the president of the Georgetown College Democrats publicly disapproved of Plan A’s tactics."

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