<p>I give a lot of credit to Gustavus. Being Christian does not have to equal being homophobic or having a head-in-the-sand attitude toward sexuality. And regarding whether they are getting this info from the media, the media most teens watch really isn’t real big on condom use; for example, I am most of the way through watching the first season of Glee, and they have not been mentioned, although there is plenty of “action” for those teens.</p>
<p>If you have graduated from high school, and don’t know about condoms and safe sex practices, you are from a different planet.</p>
<p>uh- While it is true that Obama ended the inaccurate and insufficent Bush era sex ed programme, it is still appropriate for resources to be presented in college.</p>
<p>People are more likely to pay attention to information that they think is relevant to themselves, and really- how many teens are having sex in 9th grade?</p>
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<p>I suspect that many kids who attended Christian schools or who were homeschooled in a Christian environment may come from that planet.</p>
<p>Agree with EK - because you are dealing with young, developing minds, you need to repeat the message over and over again.</p>
<p>How many times have you told your 16 year old to drive carefully? Once, twice?</p>
<p>*How many times have you told your 16 year old to drive carefully? Once, twice? *</p>
<p>Or to take out the garbage?</p>
<p>
Traditional, non-fundamentalist Christian denominations are often very, very liberal. If you’re not sure about that, check out the World and National Council of Churches website and see what they stand for (Lutherans are members). It’s important to remember that evangelical is not synonymous for fundamentalist.</p>
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QFT. Quoted for truth.</p>
<p>The orientation wasn’t just about where to find condoms- but how to live with others.
Freshman may have been coming from the kind of schools where racial/sexual slurs are used- or worse( as we have seen with the recent tragedies across the country).</p>
<p>Many have never had to share a room and since it can be difficult for strangers to develop guidelines for sharing a space, introducing the topic with humor is a way to get that started.</p>
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<p>I wonder, is “mock-simulating” actually having sex?</p>
<p>ELCA- Evangelical Lutheran Church in America- is a liberal/mainline Protestant denomination. (They are not at all what most Americans know as “Evangelicals”–the word “Evangelical” has a specific/historical/different meaning in the name of this group.) This type of orientation program is about what I’d expect. Knowing its affiliation with ELCA, few (if any) students from conservative Christian high schools or conservative homeschoolers would choose this college.</p>
<p>(LCMS -Lutheran Church Missouri Synod is the more conservative/traditional branch of the Lutheran Church.)</p>
<p>rom828: I respect your opinions, but do want to point out that I am not from a small town and not exposed to gays. I lived in LA for many years and was a nurse at UCLA. I have had many gay aquaintances over the years. I have no problem with gay people. I have a problem with the constant bombardment of their “cause”. It is not a matter of “not supporting human rights.” We ALL need to be nice to each other, period. The Golden Rule. We do not need to specify GLB, whatever.</p>
<p>I wonder, is “mock-simulating” actually having sex?</p>
<p>Well in all fairness I don’t think Cleary is a lit or even journalism major to be, although after reading his blog posts I do wonder about his educational background( or lack thereof)-however GA, is a decent school and writing is the first step towards being a better writer.</p>
<p>“Normalization of homosexuality is not the phrase I’m really looking for. It’s the constant shoving it down our throats that gets to me.”</p>
<p>Yeah, ummm… that’s not the way you may want to say that.</p>
<p>In any event, I am getting REALLY tired of folks who riff on the same theme of, “Oh, I’m just fine with those homosexuals, but I’m tired of them trying to be the same as us”. So, its OK to be homosexual, as long as you acknowledge that you have ‘chosen’ an aberrant ‘lifestyle’ and admit that you are a lesser human being and not deserving as the same rights as ‘normal’ people. Oh, and stop trying to advocate for yourself by trying to ‘normalize’ your lifestyle choice!</p>
<p>As for the sex etiquette video, it is amazing how many conclusions have been drawn from something they have never seen. It sounds like a good idea to me though.</p>
<p>Yeah, ummm… that’s not the way you may want to say that.</p>
<p>How do you get latte out from between your laptop keyboard?
:D</p>
<p>I would be fine with less explicit & pervasive sex/violence in print/television/movies/music- But I don’t agree that variations of non heterosexual activity are portrayed as actively as " straight" sex.</p>
<p>When we start to have LBGT versions of So you think you can dance, & reality family & dating shows that are as common as the straight ones, and people don’t worry about their private lives causing them to lose their jobs or their housing or their health care, then we will have taken a big step towards a healthier society that doesn’t try to decide for individuals what a family or love should look like.</p>
<p>Until then, we need to keep educating people that rolling your eyes and saying you are tired of " politically correctness", is not the same as acceptance.</p>
<p>I just watched the videos in question ([Freshman</a> Orientation Caught on Tape | Gustavus Adolphus College](<a href=“http://gustavus.campusreform.org/group/blog/freshman-orientation-caught-on-tape]Freshman”>http://gustavus.campusreform.org/group/blog/freshman-orientation-caught-on-tape)) and ([Video:</a> Inside Freshman Orientation | Gustavus Adolphus College](<a href=“http://gustavus.campusreform.org/group/blog/video-inside-freshman-orientation]Video:”>http://gustavus.campusreform.org/group/blog/video-inside-freshman-orientation)) which are clearly dramatization skits put on by a troupe. The tape is edited, so I don’t know what is missing, but the gist seems clear. The first video shows skits about students having sex - the so-called ‘simulated sex’ is merely two students sitting on a couch with a blanket thrown over themselves. True, they make some noises, but that’s about it. They then introduce individuals who each represent a sexual option (condom, wait-until-marriage, masturbation, etc.). This was admittedly risqu</p>
<p>Um, EmeraldK,quite a few 9th graders are, unfortunately.</p>
<p>My kids were home schooled and went to private Christian Schools. Two went to State schools, and one is in the Navy. They knew as much, and maybe more about safe sex, and probably had more respect for the opposite sex.</p>
<p>More respect than who?</p>
<p>We live in a state where the governor pledged to have factual sex ed in schools & in a city where my older daughters( private) middle school class had a tour to planned parenthood, and for the 6th grade science fair, her presentation ( along with two boys) was on sexually transmitted diseases- with pics!</p>
<p>In our state- or at least our district- health education is covered in 9th grade- health is also taught in 7th -8th grade, but my impression has been health emphasized nutrition, safety, where to go for help, social issues ( making friends- not being a bully…)some stuff about substance use- exercise- but not really that much about sex ed.</p>
<p>However, I am not good with the discussion myself-
I never even knew where babies came from till I was 11 ( I never thought about it- 
), and while I did buy the picture books for my kids, especially the younger one ( who attended public schools for high school), did not want me talking about personal matters at all.
I bought her a copy of Our Bodies Ourselves, but I don’t know if she ever looked at it.</p>
<p>I know that some 9th graders are having sex- for whatever reason, but I don’t think it is that common, and especially since many parents are like me & avoid the topic altogether, I don’t think it is a bad idea to remind them where they can get more info, even if they don’t have baskets of condoms in the dorm bathrooms like my older daughters college did.</p>