Some sex columnists use cheap techniques, using words like HOT ANAL PENIS BOOBS VAGINA SEX to get your attention. I'm above that.
In case you didn't get a chance to check out my column in the summer registration issue, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Erica Andrist. I'm a first-year med student, and I'm also a program facilitator with Sex Out Loud, the student sexual health organization. Although my years with SOL have given me a lot of background I'll draw on to answer your sex questions, I'll be writing this column independently of SOL, and what I say does not necessarily represent their stance on any issue. I'll be writing on topics of my own choosing and/or answering questions students ask me in programs until I start getting your questions at sex@dailycardinal.com. So e-mail me!
The first topic I want to address this year is the subject of resources. Not exceptionally enticing, I know, but as with most things sex-related, sometimes it takes a little while before you get good and juiced up. Luckily for us, whether you prefer to get your information from a person, pamphlet or podcast, you've got options.
The first resources to mention are the four student orgs in the sexual health ""power quad."" Leading the pack, in my humble and extraordinarily biased opinion, is Sex Out Loud. Whether you're interested in learning about safer sex, pleasure, kink, relationships or birth control, we have a program for it. If we don't have a program that exactly addresses your needs, we can make one—for your dorm, your best friend's birthday or just because. Talk with your house fellow, check out sexoutloud.com or visit our office on the third floor of the Student Activity Center for details on how to schedule an SOL program (and for all the free safer-sex supplies you could ever want).
Right next to our office is Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment. PAVE is a student organization dedicated to preventing sexual assault and dating/domestic violence through education and activism. PAVE also offers a number of resources for survivors of sexual violence. If you are interested in getting involved, visit their website at uwpave.rso.wisc.edu.
In Memorial Union, you can find the Campus Women's Center and the LGBT Campus Center. According to their website, www.madison.com/communities/cwc, the CWC is interested in ""providing a variety of support services, educating the campus community on a number of woman-centered issues, and serving as a resource and referral center for all students."" By checking out their space on the fourth floor, you can learn more about their various support groups, special events and referral services (also more safer sex supplies!).
The CC is a couple floors down in MU, and on the web at lgbt.wisc.edu. Part of the CC's mission is ""to strengthen and sustain an inclusive campus community for LGBTQ and allied students by eliminating heterosexism, homophobia and gender identity oppression."" You can check out the CC for more information on their programming and events, ways to get involved or just to find a safe space to meet people and hang out.
Though these four student orgs represent some of the more specialized resources on campus, you can also find answers to your general health questions at University Health Services, 333 East Campus Mall. UHS offers sexual health resources, including free screenings, through its General Medicine Clinic, the Blue Bus Clinic and the Women's Clinic. Check out uhs.wisc.edu for more information.
Furthermore, if you prefer learning about these things in a more anonymous environment (and want more incentive to do your reading), there are several classes available. The first and most obvious is Psych/Soc 160: Human Sexuality. Professor John DeLamater describes the course as ""the only comprehensive course about sexuality, sexual relationships, sexual health and contemporary social issues involving sex taught on the campus."" For more detailed information, the fall syllabus is online.
But Psych 160 is hardly the only option. I'm totally running out of my allotted space, so for this last incoherent paragraph, I want to mention Gender & Women's Studies 103 (the only undergrad course from which I still have all of my textbooks and notes), Pathology 210, Med Hist 524, GWS 431 (hey Professor Leavitt—if you're reading this, please let me take your class), GWS 533, Biocore 333, and Comm Arts 610. Please also check out the list of registered student orgs at cfli.wisc.edu/student_organizations.htm, especially if you're looking for sexual health resources with a specific cultural/religious/political tilt. Finally, don't forget that UW-Madison only stands as a portion of Madison as a whole. There are community resources available if you can't find exactly what you're looking for on campus: Planned Parenthood (Mifflin Street), AIDS Network and A Woman's Touch (both on Williamson Street), OUTreach, Satyricon, Madison Area Whipper Snappers, and so on.
I have to stop now because I can't cram any more information into this column. If you have further questions about anything, anything at all, don't hesitate to e-mail me at sex@dailycardinal.com. And even though we didn't get supersexy this week, be sure to check back next Friday for more HOT ANAL PENIS BOOBS VAGINA SEX-related topics.
