Urey Lecture hall is the ultimate classroom for slackers, skippers, and those terminally addicted to texting. The ability to seat hundreds of students makes taking attendance an infrequent occurrence—unless those dreaded iclickers are required. I can’t speak for everyone, but I would be loathed to miss a moment of Human Sexuality, taught by Dr. Lindsey Doe. Human Sexuality is a course that uses a broad spectrum of beliefs, practices, and histories to provide students with a general idea of sexuality. The course fulfils both Biology and Anthroplolgy credits, is three hours of lecture and discussion once a week, and yes, it is taught in Urey Lecture Hall.
The number of students attending class, though it still remains high, has decreased somewhat since the first day. Perhaps some students have yet to realize that they will not receive an ‘A’ simply by showing up on the day when we discuss sexual positions. Students are required to attend out of class events/workshops in order to succeed in the course, as well as pass three scantron exams, and a final. This course deserves, and demands, as much time and respect as any other class, the only difference being, it is extremely fun.
Our most recent homework was to write a letter to our genitals. There were several courageous people that offered to read theirs to the class; the letters were filled with humor, sincerity, gratitude, and empathy. The exercises in this class are, I believe, intended to bring us closer to our own bodies, a goal I feel is immensely important, since, generally speaking, our culture has become sexually stale, which fails to stimulate, and only furthers our stagnation, so that generations of children are brought up in homes that fear sexuality, rather than embrace it.
So far this semester we have studied sexology, sex education, sex and the law, anatomy, physiology, and challenges to sexual functioning. Future lectures will include STI’s, sexual expression, orientation, and performance, sex and religion, sex and culture, love and intimacy, and many more.
At the risk of sounding overly sappy, I’m going to say that we—students and professor—have created a sense of intimacy and unity in this course. We may be embarrassed at times, needing to stifle giggles or gasps, but we feel accepted for who we are—like just maybe there are others out there with the same questions, same concerns, same problems.
In my opinion, education in this area can only bring good changes: acceptance of different lifestyles and sexual preferences, a sense of community, healthier individuals, satiated individuals, and people comfortable and confident in their own skin.