Sex.
For many, it’s an uncomfortable topic to talk about – if mentioned at all. But it’s necessary for providing support and resources to those who may need it, like individuals sexually experimenting or those victimized by power-based violence.
Sex-related curriculum varies by state, since there are few federal laws defining quality sex education. According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, the state’s public schools are only required to teach HIV and AIDS prevention — with an emphasis on abstinence. Any other sex education is left to the discrepancy of school boards and parental figures within student’s lives.
Gorloks Aware, a campus organization, aims to provide a more comprehensive sexual education to students, sharing violence-prevention methods for stalking, dating and sexual abuse. Ali Brokaw used grant funding from the Office of Violence Against Women to create the program in January 2022.
“We’re looking at what kinds of education people get when they’re coming in as a student right away,” Brokaw said. “Then we also look at how we can have these continual messages so that way it’s not just one thing you hear about one time and then never think about it again. We’re looking to build a culture where everyone is responsible for creating a safe environment. It’s not just on me, but on all of us.”
The program is based on Brokaw’s findings from 13 focus groups, created to see what would capture students’ attention and keep them invested in this education. She found that students wanted to be actively involved with the conversation.
One of the ways that Gorloks Aware encourages students to make a difference is by attending their Green Dot trainings. The program aims to help individuals recognize instances of power-based violence and utilize their strengths to help intervene.
Some 300 students went through training in 2023, but Brokaw hopes for more this year. Currently, only Brokaw and the director of housing, Rachael Amick, are certified Green Dot trainers. But 16 staff members are signed up to become certified in October, allowing more opportunities for students to earn their own green dot. After completing training, students are given a specialized email signature which states, “ask me about green dot.” This aims to draw interest to the program, and has successfully led to an increase in training sessions on campus.
“For it to be this cultural thing that we do, it can’t be something that lives in the Gorloks Aware office or something that just lives in Title IX,” Brokaw said. “It has to be something that everybody is talking about and thinks is important.”
It took a discussion within Webster’s Clery training course for junior Eden Rolves to realize they were a victim of cyberstalking.
“[The trainer] was like, ‘cyberstalking is an actual thing. It’s a Clery crime and it’s something you need to report’,” Rolves said. “She’s describing it and I started having a panic attack … This isn’t just some guy being ‘wacky crazy,’ it’s actually something I could’ve self-reported because some of it happened on campus.”
Rolves received support on campus, like from Clery officer Maggie Hooks. They learned they could walk with public safety officers around campus, or use other protective measures offered by the school.
Other students, like Carrigan Ring, have benefitted from Webster’s counseling program.
“I had been sexually assaulted my freshman year of high school and last year was the first time that anyone actually validated my sexual assault,” Ring said. “ … Victims of those situations need a safe space [where] they feel seen and validated for the things that happened to them, not to just feel like their opinions and what happened to them doesn’t matter.”
The Office for Civil Rights Compliance and Title IX (OCRC) runs programs of its own throughout the school year. Some of these are reoccurring, such as Title IX Tuesdays, when students can ask questions and learn more about regulations and the reporting process. Sessions occur in-person on the first Tuesday of the month in the University Center (UC) and over Zoom on the last Tuesday of the month. Other informational sessions are based on student needs.
“We look at trends in reporting and how our campus is shifting over time,” Kimberly Bynum-Smith, director and title IX coordinator, said.
Several campus organizations are working to encourage conversations about sex, safety and violence prevention for the benefit of the culture around Webster. There are a variety of sex-related programs and resources made available to students on campus, including boxes of condoms, lube and dental dams located within the counseling office.
Both Gorloks Aware and the OCRC are open to student input and organization partnerships. Any students looking to do so are encouraged to email Gorloksaware@webster.edu or bethoberg@webster.edu, respectively.
“Each of us has the power to be a part of that solution,” Brokaw said. “It can get really easy to stay in the panic of it, but we have the power to do something – and we should. We can.”
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