The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

The student media organization of California State University Northridge

Daily Sundial

Got a tip? Have something you need to tell us? Contact us

Loading Recent Classifieds...

Psychology Association hosts weeklong sex series

Throughout this week, the Multicultural Psychology Association will be hosting a series of talks and events centered around the topic of sex.

“This event is a series of lectures and events with guest speakers, faculty members, students and mental health professionals, aimed to inform, educate and illuminate the way we perceive sex,” said Rebecca Coutin, board member of the MPA who organized the event.

The event, “Sex on The Mind,” was first produced at Los Angeles Valley College in 2001, and was first brought to CSUN a couple of years ago, Coutin said.

Coutin made it her mission to bring it back to campus this year.

Some of the events that have been organized for this week include a talk by Dr. Ava Cadell on the 5,000-year-old practice of tantric sex. Dr. Sharon Mitchell will be speaking at an event entitled “Eradicating STDs and HIV in the Adult Entertainment Industry.” Dr. Don Etkes will be speaking about the “Secrets of Sexual Addiction.”

The purpose of the events is to address the lack of sex education in today’s society, Coutin said.

“We’re putting on this event because the board members and I recognize the ignorance that exists on many college campuses today regarding sex,” Coutin said. The government promotes abstinence as the only sex education, which basically says you should wait until you’re married to have sex, but there’s no discussion on how to be safer about sex if you choose to participate in that activity.”

She said schools tend not to offer comprehensive sex education due to the controversy that exists about sex education for minors. She pointed out, however, that statistics show a majority of students lose their virginity before graduating from high school.

“To not have comprehensive sex education is kind of questionable considering the statistics,” Coutin said.

While sex is still not discussed in today’s society, Coutin said she doesn’t think this week’s events will spark any controversy, but that instead, students will appreciate the forum for discussing issues of sex that might have been neglected in their education.

Dr. Cadell one of the guest speakers, said that the government should devote more funding to teaching people the safe practices of sex.

“Teaching abstinence is a waste of time,” Cadell said. “(The government) should spend more money on human sexuality (instead).”

Cadell said that her speech on tantric sex would help enlighten students on the art of making love, as opposed to just having sex. She said that discussions like these benefit students because “everyone knows how to have sex, but to make love is an art.” She said her speech, therefore, will be meant to teach her audience how “to enjoy the journey better, and not just the destination.”

Dr. Mitchell said her speech on the adult entertainment industry would be beneficial.

“It’s going to broaden the minds of people that have always wondered, ‘What do sex workers do to keep themselves healthy?'” Mitchell said.

She also said there should definitely be more events such as this on college campuses.

“In the Bush administration, there’s not enough sex education,” Mitchell said.

With the support of faculty members so far, Coutin hopes students will be responsive toward the discussion of issues brought up by the speakers and film series this week.

“My hope is that this event will open up minds and enable people to feel comfortable discussing sex, (as well as) embrace similarities and differences that exist in other cultures,” Coutin said. “(Students can) accept the way people live their lives, but most importantly be proud of who they are as sexual (beings).”

More to Discover