An event called “Let’s Talk Sex” was recently hosted at Fairfield University by the College Democrats and reportedly received funding from the Jesuit university’s politics department, according to The Fairfield Mirror. The event, featuring Planned Parenthood representatives and a discussion of “all the types of sex that can be had,” apparently did not include mention of Catholic sexual teaching.
The event was attended by various student clubs, including “Gay Straight Alliance,” “Alliance,” and “Service for Social Justice.” Some clubs reportedly set up tables with information “aimed to teach students about different topics about sex that are often overlooked or misunderstood.”
One such table, according to the report, “discussed all the types of sex that can be had, not just heteronormative sex but homosexual sex, the ways you can protect yourself, and the truth behind HIV.”
The Mirror reported that a student co-president of the College Democrats was motivated to hold the event “after she, along with other students, was angered by the Students for Life’s ‘classist, racist, homophobic’ display in October that targeted Planned Parenthood.”
Another Fairfield student told the Mirror that Planned Parenthood was “a beneficial addition to the event, saying she felt it was the most ‘interactive station.’”
The event reportedly led to controversy between the University’s administration and the College Democrats, who were denied their request to distribute condoms at the event. Fairfield has stated its opposition to distributing contraceptives in the past. In a 2013 article published by the Mirror, the director of the student health center on campus stated that “Catholic colleges can’t be seen as promoting pre-marital sex.”
The Cardinal Newman Society contacted Fairfield University’s politics department for comment on whether it considered financial support for the event contrary to Fairfield’s Catholic identity, but no response was received by time of publication.
Reprinted with permission from The Cardinal Newman Society.