Equal Writes

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by Josh Franklin

Hey all! I’m working on a longer post with a few thoughts I’ve had for a while now about consent and how sexual violence prevention campaigns work, which seems especially appropriate given the discussions we’ve been having recently about consent here and in the Daily Princetonian. For now, I want to just let you all know about two exciting opportunities on campus to get involved in this discussion.

First, tonight is the “What is Consent? (And how to ask for it)” dinner discussion at Campus Club, co-sponsored by SHARE, SpeakOut, Let’s Talk Sex, Equal Writes, Pride Alliance, Sexual Health Advisors, Center for Jewish Life, and the LGBT Center. The dinner will be at 6pm:

Come join SHARE for a dinner-based discussion on the importance of consent in relationships of any kind. We will be feature small group discussions facilitated by SHARE peers about the recent articles and the debate surrounding them, followed by a larger group discussion, and we will close with a workshop – facilitated by UHS educator Laura Rubinstein – on the importance of clearly establishing consent in any sort of relationship. We invite everyone to come and join us – free T-shirts and food (kosher and vegetarian options) will be available!

I urge you to go to this event! I think that too often, an article like last week’s op-ed in the Prince creates a general commotion, but we forget about the issue. Sexual assault and a culture of sexual violence is the issue, and it would be sad if we lost sight of that for the sake of an important but short debate about one article. This problem hasn’t gone away just because people are starting to forget about that op-ed, so I urge you to get involved in a real discussion!

Also, I’m going to be organizing a men’s group dealing with issues of masculinity and sexual violence. The plans aren’t totally finalized, but the general idea is a meeting for an hour or so once a week or once every two weeks, possibly over dinner, to discuss experiences of masculinity and sexual violence. I think that it’s important that men have a space to work through these issues with other men. I’ll have more information soon, but if you’re interested send me an email at jbfrankl@ !