Contributed by CARP Las Vegas
On April 10th, students wearing bright red shirts saying “You Are Worth More” overflowed the campus at the College of Southern Nevada (CSN). The slogan connected to the theme of the Campus Talk event: “Sex and Morality: Confronting the Culture of Casual Sex,” inspiring students to believe in a meaningful and lasting love that is worth more than the superficial love that is inherent in casual sex.
Preparing for the event
Over 110 people gathered for the event, including 7 faculty members, 65 CSN students and 30 CARP students and volunteers. Among the participants were CSN student government officials and student club leaders who genuinely care about the culture of their college campus and beyond.
The purpose of the event was to bring attention to issues that result from the culture of casual sex that permeates society. Throughout the day, students passed out many flyers at a booth in front of the school, and played beautiful music to draw attention to the booth. There were a handful of club leaders and representatives, as well as fellow CARP friends who supported as the main outreach team for the event.
The event program
As the auditorium began to fill, the emcee Mr. Ryota Naito, vice-president of CARP CSN, warmly welcomed everyone and opened up the program by conveying the importance of addressing the topic of sex and morality. He invited the audience to be open to learn with a perspective of how being informed about sex and love connects us to lifelong happiness.
The first speaker was Professor Paul Herrle, a psychology professor who teaches Human Sexuality at CSN. He shared insightful data and statistics of the effects of sex and relationships on people’s happiness and emotional health. He enlightened the audience by addressing many of the myths that young people believe about sexuality within today’s culture.
Next, Ms. Janice Glasper, the dean of the Health Sciences department, shared the outcomes of casual sex through her own testimony of raising 3 children as a single mother. In her times of hardships, she realized that though she felt she was misused and mistreated by others and didn’t have a role model of love, she needed to become the example for the sake of her children.
“By attending Campus Talk, I learned I’m not ready to engage in any sexual activity and I have to form a vision for my future in all ways possible (i.e. relationships, career, friendships,etc.) With a lot of temptation in the world, I admit, it won’t be easy to stay focused on the bigger goal in life of accomplishing my dreams.” – Karli McFarling-Kelly, president of student club, Black Student Union
The last talk was delivered by Mr. Andrew Love, who is a mentor and communication director for a non-profit organization called High Noon. He passionately spoke about the importance of creating a powerful vision for oneself and one’s future marriage and family, in order to fight against any obstacles that may hinder that vision. Through his humorous yet convincing stories, he was able to share the paramount importance of sexual integrity.
During a Q&A session, Professor Herrle went into greater depth of how media portrays sex and relationships affect men and women, and Dean Glasper expressed how her faith carried her through the hardest times of her life.
In the end, Ms. Vivien Brock, a CSN student government senator, shared about her challenging life experiences with this topic. The fellow students were moved by her story of resilience and hope.
Mr. Naito wrapped up the evening by encouraging the participants to connect to clubs and communities of people who are striving to mature their character and quality of relationships.
Reflections on the event
This Campus Talk was a very impactful and enlightening experience for all who attended. One student was surprised by the statistics that were shared in the first talk because throughout his whole life, the concepts and attitudes that he had been taught contradicted these facts.
“I liked the talk a lot and I told my parents about it. They thought it was good that I was supporting a good cause like this one.” – Student Participant
“The program was very informative and it has me reevaluating my life and my decisions.” – Student Participant
“I needed this about 6 years ago.” – Student Participant
“It was the best event I’ve seen held in CSN! Usually during the events here, the same faces show up. However, this event had so much diversity and so many people!” – Senator of CSN student government
“I am very proud to be associated with that event.” – Professor Paul Herrle, speaker at the event
Many participants shared that they wished the program was longer because they were so eager to learn more from the speakers. CARP will be hosting the same event at UNLV on the following week. Please stay tuned!
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