If you know me (or have heard of me), you probably know I like to talk about sex. In my classrooms, in community conversations, on the stage, I think we need to talk about sex and pleasure. We also have to talk about consent…and we especially need to talk about what happens to consent when there is also intoxication. Can we talk about pleasure even when we are sober? Can we talk about sex face to face without shame? Can we talk about the fact that sex is positive? And it feels good? And that talking about pleasure is okay?

We need to talk about sex because college campuses across the country are at the epicenter of the sexual assault conversation and, as our recent Climate Survey demonstrated, SLU is no exception. When surveys suggest one in five college students reports being sexually assaulted on campus, we cannot afford to be silent. The ramifications cannot be overstated for survivors or the very fabric of our community. It is time to talk about sex, openly and positively, about pleasure and love and communicating needs and wants. But first we have to recognize and understand the impact of silence on our community. We need to understand the pain etched onto the bodies, the memories, the lives of survivors and witnesses of our SLU community.

Our task force is exploring the myriad of complex issues that feed into the larger challenge of sexual behavior and misconduct. To be effective, the Task Force on the Causes and Prevention of Sexual Misconduct (TSM) needs your guidance. Every member of the task force cares deeply and is personally committed to affecting real change. We are listening.

This is where you come in. We need to hear from you. We need to hear from every corner of campus—including our extended campus of international programs. As with everything on this campus, diversity matters. Your voice needs to be heard in the chorus of opinions. This isn’t a “women’s issues”, it never has been. This is about embracing our humanity for the betterment of our community. We need to hear from male and trans students, as well as female. We need to hear from the athletes and the artists, the fraternities and the theme houses, the first-year dorms and the townhouses. We need to hear from our LBGTQ+ community; we need to hear from every race, from every economic background, from a variety of social locations. The more voices we hear from, the more inclusive our recommendations will be. Staying silent is no longer the answer. Quite honestly, it never has been. SLU deserves the chance to bear witness to our own experiences and the experiences of our community without threat of reprisal, ostracization, condemnation, or blame.

In Fall 2019, we launched a set of confidential surveys tailored to specific groups of our community: students, faculty, staff, and alumni. The surveys will close soon in order for the team to process and analyze the data in order to offer recommendations to President Fox.

So please, take the time this week to take the survey or sign up for a private, confidential interview, and tell us how it feels to be in the SLU community. Tell us what’s working and what’s not. We’re listening. We are ready to take action. Let’s talk about sex.