‘Sex Me Up’ presents inclusive sex education

USD students were given an opportunity to learn about inclusive sex education this Valentine’s Day.

The Center for Diversity & Community hosted “Sex Me Up,” an event with various speakers from Siouxland Community Health Center, Planned Parenthood and ICARE to provide flash lectures on various topics every 30 minutes Wednesday afternoon. Students decorated “genderbread” cookies at the event, to highlight gender inclusivity.

Along with free pamphlets, free condoms, “sexy goodie bags” and free dental dams, students were also given a chance to get free HIV tests in the Muenster University Center Ballroom.

Em Nielson, a first-year psychology and sociology double major, said they liked how inclusive the event was.

“They have pamphlets for people of other orientations and gender, so it’s not just cisgender and heterosexual,” Nielson said.

Along with education, Nielson said they hope the event helped other students understand more about certain topics they weren’t as educated on.

“I just think these types of events normalize sexual behavior, especially sexual behavior that some people would consider deviant,” they said.

The speakers and sex education are one aspect of the event Jaid Freestone first-year biology major said she liked about the event.

“(I learned) about sexual health in general,” Freestone said. “They have a lot of pamphlets, more than I was expecting.”

Inclusive sex education is an important topic to discuss in college, Freestone said.

“A lot of us, when we went to high school, our sex education was not good at all, if there was any,” she said. “I like that the CDC put it on, because it wasn’t just targeted toward one audience. It was literally for everybody and I like that they were the ones who put it on.”