As I sat on the bus about a week ago, the girl in front of me complained bitterly about a bulletin board that she had seen in the basement of Brian.
My ears quickly perked up because the R.A in that hall is a good friend of mine. The suspense was crippling as she went in circles before stating, “It’s a bulletin board about safe sex, I mean seriously how can you put that stuff up? This institution is Catholic and this encourages people to have sex all the time.”
Needless to say, I was not only flabbergasted by this observation but deeply disturbed as well. The 15-minute ride to Saint Ben’s was a complain fest about the bulletin board and how it “put the wrong idea in people’s minds.”
I sincerely hope that this campus is not filled with people that think bulletin boards aimed at educating their communities are there to encourage any type of what others may call “immoral” behavior. The surprise came when I thought further about the conversation.
People assume that the R.A.s are intended to be resources but instead they are there to disrupt the peace. Having been an R.A. for the past two years, my only desire is that my residents feel comfortable to ask questions about anything, including sex, if they so wish.
The real problem, however, is when people think that talking about sex is “inappropriate” in some way because we study at a Catholic institution. I have had numerous classes where I have freely talked about sex and rape, which are acts that happen everyday.
Just because some people choose not to speak about sex does not mean that other people should be deprived the opportunity to have that information available to them. As college students, if we are unable to speak freely about sex, how do we expect to do so effectively as parents or guardians in the future?
The fact that most of our parents give us the infamous “birds and the bees” talk does not mean that they are encouraging us to immediately tear off our clothes and indulge ourselves. I will give an example to further explain my point.
Professor on Monday: “This Wednesday we will have a test; it is very important and it will count for 50 percent of your final grade.”
You on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning: – insert your “im freaking out because I haven not studied” %u2014 face here!
Just because the professor said the test was important does not mean that you immediately went and studied for it.
That hit real close to home, did it not?
So the next time you see a bulletin board or message you do not agree with, read it and understand it. Do not shut your mind to its message because you never know when it could help save your life.