Even before fall semester classes begin Wednesday, Sept. 4, at UW-Stout, new students will have a chance to learn more about a national and global issue.
During first-year orientation on Tuesday, Sept. 3, the issue of sexual consent will be addressed by a nonprofit Maine-based touring group. Speak About It, a performance-based program, will be held at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Memorial Student Center.
This is the second straight year UW-Stout has offered the program during orientation. “It was so well-received from students and staff that we didn’t hesitate to bring them back this year,” said Britta Miller, new student orientation coordinator.
In its 10th year touring the country, Speak About It will visit more than 50 college in the next six weeks. The value of the group’s message has taken on added importance with the #Me Too Movement.
“This isn’t your typical 60 minutes of finger wagging, where we tell people ‘Don’t have sex. Don’t drink. Don’t do this or that.’ We know that kind of education doesn’t work,” Program Manager Oronde Cruger said. “Speak About It is a show about affirmative consent, a show that affirms people’s identities. Our show is about how complex sexuality is and how the way to wade through the sometimes murky waters of sexual discovery is by having open and honest conversations.
“If we can get young people to talk about sex, gender and the pressures they’re feeling day to day, that’s one step closer to getting them comfortable talking about what they need and want in the moment,” Cruger said. “Likewise, if they’re used to hearing people needing and wanting different things sexually, they’re more likely to hear and respect people’s boundaries.”
The program features more than 20 monologues that five actor-educators deliver throughout the show. The monologues touch on topics from assault to asexuality, first dates to first sexual experiences, supporting a friend to searching for one’s own identity and more.
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Members of Speak About It perform a skit about sexual consent as part of the touring program, which will be at UW-Stout on Tuesday, Sept. 3.
