The Sexual Wellness Club hosted a variety of events last week to celebrate National Sexual Responsibility Week. The week featured events in collaboration with Planned Parenthood Generation Action (PPGA), Unity House, Crozier Center for Women and the Cox Health and Counseling Center. All the events were intended to inform students about safe sex practices and destigmatize sexuality.
Although these events all involved collaboration between a variety of student-run organizations, the plan for the week originally came from the Associate Director of Health Promotion at the Health Center, Holly Levin. Since the Health Center and Sexual Responsibility Club had collaborated on previous events, including “Sex in the Dark” and “I Heart Female Orgasm,” Levin reached out to Sexual Wellness Club founder Jesse Leener ’23 earlier in the semester to see whether she would be interested in planning any events for National Sexual Responsibility Week. Following this conversation, the Sexual Wellness Club collaborated with the Health Center and other organizations that share a similar focus on sex and sexuality. Leener noted that because the Sexual Wellness Club only began in the fall of last year, she hopes that collaborating with other like-minded clubs will help maintain the club’s longevity.
To start off the week, the Sexual Wellness Club tabled in Peirce Dining Hall to hand out its sexual wellness resource guide, which contains information on a variety of books and media promoting sexuality and sex education. Additionally, club members invited students to enter a raffle for a $250 value Date Night Goodie Box provided by Lion’s Den— by the end of the week, this raffle had over 130 entries. The group tabled concurrently with the Health Center and the Office for Civil Rights. The Health Center handed out their own safe-sex kits and the Office for Civil Rights handed out consent and sexual-responsibility-themed pins. Additionally, New Directions, the domestic violence health center in Mount Vernon, had a representative present to provide information about the resources they offer.
Although there were not any events held on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 15 was a busy day for the club. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., club members once again tabled in Peirce. Later that night, the group hosted Weaver Wednesday, which featured hot chocolate and other treats, followed by an hour-long yoga session that focused on self-love and relaxation. Following Weaver Wednesday, Sexual Wellness Club, PPGA, Unity and Crozier co-hosted a trivia night at the Village Inn. Leener described this particular event as one of the most well-attended of the week. For a total of three rounds, 12 teams of students answered a variety of sexuality-themed questions. Midway through the event, students were provided with a goodie bag of items from Lion’s Den. The event encouraged students to discuss sex in a low-stakes environment where they could freely share their knowledge, and many found the event to be entertaining and educational. “I think the theme had some fun questions mixed in with some appropriately serious political questions,” said Evan Manley ’25, one of the event’s attendees. The top-scoring teams at this event received a Lion’s Den gift card worth $50, $100 or $150 respectively. As there was a tie for second place, both teams received $100 gift cards (in addition to the third and first place teams receiving their prizes).
To close off the week, the group held a screening of Netflix’s “Principles of Pleasure: Episode 3, Our Relationships” in Crozier on Feb. 16, co-sponsored by Unity and Crozier. Finally, the clubs drew the results for a Goodie Box Raffle worth $250, provided by Lion’s Den.
Ultimately, Leener hopes that some of the “outlandish” things the Sexual Wellness club does — like hosting a sexuality-themed trivia night in the Village Inn or handing out sex toys in Peirce — help destigmatize conversations on sexuality. “Sexual Responsibility Week specifically raises awareness about holistic sexual health and empowers students in their relationships and sexual decisions,” she said. “I just want people to feel more comfortable talking about these things, and the way to do that is to have as many events as we can.”