Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
ADVICE & CONSENT
WCU orientation program offers common-sense answers to sex on campus
WEST CHESTER » Freshmen orientation, one of the first chances for colleges to help students bridge the gap between living at home with their folks and freshmen getting a huge taste of freedom, is ongoing at West Chester University.
While many incoming students at West Chester University will miss mom’s cooking, and for the first time will have to buy their own text books, they are also faced with decisions concerning sex.
Last Friday was move-in day at WCU, and on Saturday and Sunday, more than 2,000 freshman took part in the national, award-winning Catharsis Productions program, Sex Signals.
At Asplundh Concert Hall, students learned about healthy sexuality and violence protection in an often hilarious presentation from educators with razor-sharp wit who delivered an important message.
Before classes formally started, students learned about our culture, sex and the core issue of bystander intervention.
The students laughed and grimaced – occasionally both at the same time. The language used by the two-person team on stage was often hip and provocative.
Colette Gregory and David Seeber worked the stage for Catharsis Productions with just a couple of chairs, while almost constantly interacting with the audience.
Students learned to police each other and intervene when it gets “creepy.”
They also heard about how to support survivors and to always ask for consent rather than possibly getting their signals crossed.
“We’re setting the culture,” Gregory said after the show. “We’re not afraid to talk about a sensitive subject.”
Jared Brown is WCU’s director of New Student Services. He said that 2,342 freshmen, in a class of 2,598, attended the shows. The university also offered an alternative program.
“It’s not a fun topic to talk about,” he said. “But we have to provide information and resources so we can prevent violent acts of sexual misconduct and violence on our campus.”
Through role-playing and through skits designed partly by students who shouted suggestions, Gregory and Seeber held the audience’s attention for more than an hour, from start to finish.
The pair talked about sex and the need to ask for consent and about making good choices.
“Not everybody is doing it but everybody is talking about it,” Seeber said about sex.
“Do it, don’t do it,” Gregory added, about a common dilemma. “If we had sex with everyone who we met who was nice to us, we’d never leave Target.”
For one impromptu drama, the freshmen were asked whether Seeber should play a “nice guy” or a “player” and whether he should impress her with “brains” or “brawn.”
Although much presented on stage was frivolous, it all had a payoff and led to important messages.
Often women are blamed when raped.
“She brought it on herself, she was drunk or did you see how she was dressed?” the audience heard several times from the actors/teachers on stage.
“Rape is sex without consent,” Gregory said. “Both partners are responsible for a ‘Yes.’”
“Either party can change their mind at any time,” Seeber said.
“It’s active and ongoing,” added Gregory.
“Asking the question can never change the answer,” Seeber said. “If you get a ‘yes’ you’re not a rapist. Rape is about a choice taken away.”
Seeber also informed the large audience that alcohol and consent don’t mix.
“You can’t give consent if you are drunk,” he said. “Don’t drunk people say ‘Yes’ to stupid stuff all the time?
“They’re not in their normal state of mind so you can’t get consent from that person. If you’re drunk, wait until you’re sober to make that decision.”
The team on stage talked about rapes that go unreported.
Members in the audience suggested that there is a stigma associated with being a victim or survivor and a fear that others will blame the victim.
Students learned that many sexual assaults occur during hazing rituals.
A member of the audience suggested what might be said to a survivor: “I believe you. It’s not your fault.”
The students heard that blaming a victim takes the responsibility away from the rapist.
Females were told about the “power of the potty.” A bystander can tell a friend on a bathroom break that a fellow student is creepy or dangerous, with both then climbing out a window.
The university ended the program by informing students where they can find counseling or could go to learn more.